Establishing an under-ice base on Europa - ice drilling/melting?

If life were discovered in the supposed ocean on Europa, it would be a popular destination for scientists and researchers. I am curious as to what life on Europa would be like, in terms of engineering and building a sustainable habitat.

First, to reach the ocean, is it more practical to melt down through the ice, or drill it? How hard would the ice be at 10km thick (in 1/9th of Earths gravity)

If melting/drilling a tunnel down to the ocean, would it be possible to passively leave this borehole open, or would the pressures cause the ice to flow together again? What kind of engineering would be required to keep the borehole open, assuming my colonists want an elevator to the surface... how would tunnels and rooms at the bottom of the ice behave, structurally?

If the ocean was reached, at about 10km depth, the water pressure would be close to 100bar with some rough calculations. Would it be practical to build habitats mounted on the underside of the ice, in the water, or would drilling rooms within the ice be easier?

posted about 8 years ago

Innovine‭

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