  Icy moons with subsurface oceans of liquid water rank among the most
promising astrobiological targets in our Solar System. In this work, we assess
the feasibility of deploying laser sail technology in precursor life-detection
missions. We investigate such laser sail missions to Enceladus and Europa, as
these two moons emit plumes that seem accessible to in situ sampling. Our study
suggests that GigaWatt laser technology could accelerate a $100$ kg probe to a
speed of $\sim{30}\, \mathrm{km\, s^{-1}}$, thereupon reaching Europa on
timescales of $1$-$4$ years and Enceladus with flight times of $3$-$6$ years.
Although the ideal latitudes for the laser array vary, placing the requisite
infrastructure close to either the Antarctic or Arctic Circles might represent
technically viable options for an Enceladus mission. Crucially, we determine
that the minimum encounter velocities with these moons (about
${6}\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$) may be near-optimal for detecting biomolecular
building blocks (e.g., amino acids) in the plumes by means of a mass
spectrometer akin to the Surface Dust Analyzer onboard the \emph{Europa
Clipper} mission. In summary, icy moons in the Solar System are potentially
well-suited for exploration via the laser sail architecture approach,
especially where low encounter speeds and/or multiple missions are desirable.
