Johns Hopkins University (JHU) continues to pad its space community résumé with their interactive map, “The map of the observable Universe”, that takes viewers on a 13.7-billion-year-old tour of the cosmos from the present to the moments after the Big Bang. While JHU is responsible for creating the site, additional contributions were made by NASA, the European Space Agency, the National Science Foundation, and the Sloan Foundation.
Fraser Cain / Universe Today Podcast In this interview, I'm talking with Theresa Benyo and Lawrence Forsley from NASA. They are authors of a Lattice Confinement Fusion Reactor that got a NIAC award this year. A reactor like this could help us melt through the ice on Europa and Enceladus and have other interesting applications in space missions. The extended version also includes additional questions from Matt Williams: • [EXTENDED CUT] Fusion Reactor To Melt... Support us at:Support us at: Patreon 👉 More about the NIAC project; 00:00 Intro 02:30 How tough is Europa's ice 04:31 Lattice confinement fusion 14:43 How the probe will look like 22:54 What's next for the NIAC project 25:57 Other applications for the reactor 31:55 Where's the upper limit for the project 37:15 Going interstellar 41:10 Behind the scenes and additional questions Sign up to my weekly email newsletter: For Free 🎧 PODCASTS Universe Today: Weekly Space Hangout: / @weeklyspacehangout Astronomy Cast: 🤳 OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA Fraser Cain's Twitter Universetoday's Twitter Universetoday's Facebook Universetoday's Instagram 📩 CONTACT FRASER Contact Fraser via E-Mail ⚖️ LICENSE Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
In a few years, NASA will be sending a spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. Known as the Europa Clipper mission, this orbiter will examine the surface more closely to search for plume activity and evidence of biosignatures. Such a find could answer the burning question of whether or not there is life within this moon, which is something scientists have speculated about since the 1970s.
Artist’s concept of a Europa Clipper mission. Credit: NASA/JPL
An artist’s rendering of Europa and Jupiter based on images sent by visiting spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Test facility designed for the Europa Clipper. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A low flyover of Jupiter's moon Europa using recently processed data from NASA's Galileo orbiter. Uses high resolution grayscale and low resolution color images taken between 1996 and 1998. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Kevin M. Gill Music: Kevin MacLeod via YouTube.
Image: These composite images show a suspected plume of material erupting two years apart from the same location on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. The newly imaged plume, shown at right, rises about 100 kilometers above Europa’s frozen surface. The image was taken Feb. 22, 2016. The plume in the image at left, observed by Hubble on March 17, 2014, originates from the same location. It is estimated to be about 50 kilometers high. The snapshot of Europa, superimposed on the Hubble image, was assembled from data from NASA’s Galileo mission to Jupiter. Credit: NASA/ESA/W. Sparks (STScI)/USGS Astrogeology Science Center.
This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapor erupting at the 7 o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The Hubble data were taken on January 26, 2014.
Credit: Credits: NASA/ESA/W. Sparks (STScI)/USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Image: These images of the surface of the Jovian moon Europa, taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, focus on a “region of interest” on the icy moon. The image at left traces the location of the erupting plumes of material, observed by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope in 2014 and again in 2016. The plumes are located inside the area surrounded by the green oval. The green oval also corresponds to a warm region on Europa’s surface, as identified by the temperature map at right. The map is based on observations by the Galileo spacecraft. The warmest area is colored bright red. Credit: NASA/ESA/W. Sparks (STScI)/USGS Astrogeology Science Center.
NASA's Report on the Their Mission to Europa
This image shows two views of the trailing hemisphere of Jupiter's ice-covered satellite, Europa.
The left image shows the approximate natural color appearance of Europa. The image on the right is a false-color
composite version combining violet, green and infrared images to enhance color differences in the predominantly water-ice crust of Europa.
This image was taken in 1996, at a range of 677,000 kilometers (417,900 miles) by the solid state imaging television camera
onboard the Galileo spacecraft during its second orbit around Jupiter.
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NASA?s ?Remastered? View of Europa is the Best Yet by MATT WILLIAMS on NOVEMBER 21, 2014 Europa.
The cracked, icy surface of Europa. The smoothness of the surface has led many scientists to conclude that oceans exist beneath it.
Credit: NASA/JPLredit: NASA
Screenshot by Michelle Starr/CNET
When it comes to life, biologists have long hypothesised that its origins -- on Earth,
at least -- were in thermal vents on the ocean floor, following a period of spontaneous metabolism before life began.
Thermal vents are rich sites for marine life -- especially in Antarctica where, in the darkness under the ice,
creatures proliferate in the warm, mineral-rich waters streaming from the vents.
It's just one of several theories, but if it's correct, Jupiter's moon Europa could be a very exciting place indeed.
Ever since plumes of vapour were discovered on Jupiter's moon in December last year, NASA has been floating theories about
the oceans that may be sloshing away under the layer of surface ice -- its similarities to theories about the early Earth
look like it may have the ingredients for life.
This reprojection of the official USGS basemap of Jupiter's moon Europa is centered at the estimated source region for potential water vapor plumes that might have been detected using the Hubble Space Telescope. The view is centered at -65 degrees latitude, 183 degrees longitude. In addition to the plume source region, the image also shows the hemisphere of Europa that might be affected by plume deposits. This map is composed of images from NASA's Galileo and Voyager missions. The black region near the south pole results from gaps in imaging coverage. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute Last Updated: May 29, 2015 Editor: Sarah Loff
by KEN KREMER on JUNE 18, 2015
Artist’s concept of NASA mission streaking over ocean world of Europa. Credit: NASA/JPL
JA false color image shows Europa’s surprising surface. The inset includes regions where crustal plates appear to have broken up
and rafted to new positions. NASA/JPL - See more Europa’s heaving ice might make more heat than scientists thought Apr 15, 2016 A new set of experiments sheds light on how much heat is created when ice is deformed,
which could help scientists understand the possibility of a subsurface ocean on one of Jupiter’s moons Europa’s heaving ice might make more heat than scientists thought Apr 15, 2016 A new set of experiments sheds light on how much heat is created when ice is deformed,
which could help scientists understand the possibility of a subsurface ocean on one of Jupiter’s moons.
Jupiter’s moon Europa is under a constant gravitational assault. As it orbits, Europa’s icy surface heaves
and falls with the pull of Jupiter’s gravity, creating enough heat, scientists think,
to support a global ocean beneath the moon’s solid shell.
Hubble’s Surprising Find On Europa To Be Announced By NASA Monday September 26, 2016
Published: 21 Sep , 2016 by Evan Gough
NASA will make a “surprising” announcement about Jupiter’s moon Europa on Monday, Sept. 26th, at 2:00 PM EDT.
They haven’t said much, other than there is “surprising evidence of activity that may be related to the
presence of a subsurface ocean on Europa.” Europa is a prime target for the search for life because of its subsurface ocean.
Images from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft show the intricate detail of Europa’s icy surface.
Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ SETI Institute
What About A Mission To Europa?
Published on Jul 27, 2015 Europa’s water exists in a layer around the planet, encased in a layer of ice. Could there be life down there? Support us at: More stories at: Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday : Follow us on Tumblr Like us on Facebook: Google+ - Instagram - Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain Jason Harmer - @jasoncharmer Susie Murph - @susiemmurph Brian Koberlein - @briankoberlein Chad Weber - weber.chad@gmail.com Kevin Gill - @kevinmgill Created by: Fraser Cain and Jason Harmer
This artist’s illustration shows what plumes of water vapour might look like being ejected from Europa’s south pole.
Image: NASA, ESA, L. Roth (Southwest Research Institute, USA/University of Cologne, Germany) and M. Kornmesser.
Two models of the interior of Europa. Image: NASA/JPL.
More About Europa: The Search For Life On Europa Could Center On Celestial Party-Crashers A New Image of Europa Emerges Icy Hot: Europa’s Frozen Crust Could Be Warmer Than We Thought
Hubble may have caught jets of water squirting out of a potentially habitable moon Dave Mosher,Business Insider
A plume of subsurface ocean water vapor escapes through a crack in the icy crust of Europa, a moon of Jupiter CREDIR:.NASA/ESA/K. Retherford/SWRI) Jupiter's moon Europa — a giant ice ball thought to hide twice as much liquid water as there is on Earth —
just became an even hotter target in the search for aliens. Scientists on Monday unveiled new photographs from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, and they likely show "fingers"
of water vapor squirting out of Europa's hidden ocean and into space.
(Suspected plumes of water vapor spouting out of Jupiter's moon Europa.Hubble/NASA/STScI/Business Insider) Those blotchy "dark fingers," circled in red, are the suspected plumes.
During a press teleconference on Monday, William Sparks, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, said
"we are really working at the limits of Hubble's unique capabilities." "Trying to just image Europa with the Hubble Space Telescope clearly from Earth is challenging," Pappalardo said.
"Trying to image the [silhouette] of a plume, via the light of Jupiter, is a remarkably hard feat.
There's essentially a lot of noise in the system." NASA's press materials lean heavily on the word "if" as well (our emphasis added): "These plumes, if they do indeed exist, may provide another way to sample Europa's subsurface,"
Geoff Yoder, the associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said in the space agency's release. Another "if" regarded the moon's water-enriched atmosphere: "If there is a thin atmosphere around Europa,
it has the potential to block some of the light of Jupiter, and we could see it as a silhouette," Sparks said in the release.
The next mission to Europa
(This artist's rendering shows a concept for a future NASA mission to Europa in which a spacecraft would make multiple close flybys of the icy Jovian moon,
thought to contain a global subsurface ocean.NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Animation - Plumes on Europa
Uploaded on Sep 26, 2016 Artist’s concept: Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. If the plumes, indeed, emerge and rain down on the surface, it may be much easier to access material that was once in the ocean of Europa. News release: Category Science & Technology License Standard YouTube License
Europa transit illustration. Europa orbits Jupiter every 3 and a half days, and on every orbit it passes in front of Jupiter,
raising the possibility of plumes being seen as silhouettes absorbing the background light of Jupiter.
Credits: A. Field (STScI)
EUROPA LANDER COULD CARRY A MICROPHONE AND “LISTEN” TO THE ICE TO FIND OUT WHAT’S UNDERNEATH
Artist's rendering of a possible Europa Lander mission, which would explore the surface of the icy moon in the coming decades. Credit:: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Image of Europa’s ice shell, taken by the Galileo spacecraft, of fractured “chaos terrain”. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Europa’s “Great Lake.” Scientists speculate many more exist throughout the shallow regions of the moon’s icy shell. Credit: Britney Schmidt/Dead Pixel FX/Univ. of Texas at Austin.
Artist’s concept of chloride salts bubbling up from Europa’s liquid ocean and reaching the frozen surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This animation demonstrates how deformation in the icy surface of Europa could transport subsurface ocean water to the moon’s surface. This is just one of several simulated behaviors reported in a new study performed by scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The study focused on linear features called “bands” and “groove lanes” found on Jupiter’s moons Europa and Ganymede. Scientists have used the same numerical model to solve mysteries about motion in Earth’s crust. The animation is a two-dimensional simulation of a possible cross-section of a band running through Europa’s ice shell. At the extreme bottom is Europa’s ocean, and the thick white line across the top represents the moon’s surface ice. The midsection is the bulk of Europa’s ice shell, with warmer colors (red, orange, yellow) representing stronger, more rigid ice. Depth is marked on the left side of the animation while numbers on the bottom measure distance from the center of the band feature on Europa’s surface. Bands on Europa and Ganymede are typically tens of miles wide and hundreds of miles long. Numbers at the top mark the passage of time in thousands of years. As the animation runs forward, the ice shell is deformed by gravitational interactions with Jupiter. The cold, brittle ice at the surface gets pulled apart. At the same time, faults in the upper ice form, heal, and re-form (visible as diagonal yellow, green and blue lines in the upper center of the animation). The churning material that quickly fills the bottom half of the view is a collection of tiny white dots representing bits of Europa’s ocean that have been frozen into the bottom of Europa’s ice shell (i.e. where the liquid ocean is in contact with the frozen shell). In the paper, the scientists describe it as “fossil” ocean material because the bits of ocean trapped in Europa’s ice shell spend many hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of years being carried to the surface. In other words, by the time the ocean material reaches Europa’s surface where it can be analyzed by a passing spacecraft, it no longer serves as a sample of Europa’s ocean as it is in the present. Instead, the spacecraft would actually be studying Europa’s ocean as it was a million or more years ago. Hence, it is fossil ocean material. NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is intended to launch in the early 2020s. The spacecraft will then orbit Jupiter and become the first spacecraft to study Europa exclusively, including the composition of the moon’s surface material. The mission will likely be able to test the model simulated above by using ice-penetrating radar to probe the moon’s bands. If Europa indeed behaves the way the simulation suggests, it might carry ocean material to the moon’s surface, where Europa Clipper would analyze it remotely using the spacecraft’s infrared and ultraviolet instruments, among others. Scientists could then study the material’s composition to consider whether Europa’s ocean might be hospitable for some form of life. Gretchen McCartney Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-6215 gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.gov animation credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Samuel M. Howell
Images from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft show the intricate detail of Europa’s icy surface. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Based on new evidence from Jupiter's moon Europa, astronomers hypothesize that chloride salts bubble up from the icy moon's global liquid ocean and reach the frozen surface where they are bombarded with sulfur from volcanoes on Jupiter's innermost large moon Io. The new findings propose answers to questions that have been debated since the days of NASA's Voyager and Galileo missions. This illustration of Europa (foreground), Jupiter (right) and Io (middle) is an artist's concept. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Radiation from Jupiter can destroy molecules on Europa's surface. Material from Europa's ocean that ends up on the surface will be bombarded by radiation, possibly destroying any biosignatures, or chemical signs that could imply the presence of life. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Artist’s concept of chloride salts bubbling up from Europa’s liquid ocean and reaching the frozen surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Artist’s concept of a Europa Clipper mission. Credit: NASA/JPL
A plume of subsurface ocean water vapor escapes through a crack in the icy crust of Europa, a moon of Jupiter CREDIR:.NASA/ESA/K. Retherford/SWRI) Jupiter's moon Europa — a giant ice ball thought to hide twice as much liquid water as there is on Earth —
just became an even hotter target in the search for aliens. Scientists on Monday unveiled new photographs from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, and they likely show "fingers"
of water vapor squirting out of Europa's hidden ocean and into space.
The search for life has led astronomers to the icy moons in our Solar System. Among those moons, Europa has attracted a lot of attention. Europa is Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon—and the sixth-largest in the Solar System—at 3,100 kilometres (1,900 mi) in diameter. Scientists think that its oceans could contain two or three times as much water as Earth’s oceans. The only problem is, that water is hidden under a sheet of planet-wide ice that could be between 2km and 30km (1.2 miles and 18.6 miles) thick.
Two models of the interior of Europa. A tunneling robot would be able to tunnel through the ice and search for life. Image: NASA/JPL.
Reprocessed Galileo image of Europa’s frozen surface by Ted Stryk (NASA/JPL/Ted Stryk)
Images from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft show the intricate detail of Europa’s icy surface. A tunnelling robot would be just the vehicle to explore the oceans under the ice. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ SETI Institute
Image of Europa’s ice shell, taken by the Galileo spacecraft, of fractured “chaos terrain.” A tunneling robot would likely be sent to this type of surface area. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Artist’s concept of a Europa Clipper mission. Credit: NASA/JPL
Mars is the place that most of our spacecraft, landers and rovers are studying, searching for any evidence that life ever existed somewhere else in the Solar System. But talk to planetary scientists, and they’re just as excited about the ocean worlds of the Solar System; the moons, asteroids, dwarf planets and Kuiper Belt objects where there could be vast oceans of liquid water under thick shells of ice. The perfect environment for life to thrive. We’ve only had tantalizing hints that these oceans are there, but NASA is building a spacecraft that will study one of these worlds in detail: the Europa Clipper. And they’re not the only ones. The European Space Agency is building their own mission, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. Our Book is out! Sign up to my weekly email newsletter: Support us at:Support us at: Follow us on Tumblr: : More stories at Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: Instagram - Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com /Karla Thompson - @karlaii Chad Weber - Chloe Cain - Instagram: @chloegwen2001 References: Evidence for an Ocean on Europa Solar System Exploration NASA Mission Named 'Europa Clipper' Europa Instruments Europa or Enceladus? If NASA switches from SLS to Falcon Heavy, it won’t have to choose Old Data Reveal New Evidence of Europa Plumes Full Congreessional Report (PDF) Without a champion, Europa lander falls to NASA’s back burner NASA’S EUROPA LANDER MAY BE IN JEOPARDY AFTER THE MIDTERMS — AND SOME ARE FINE WITH SEEING IT GO Without Culberson, the lander no longer has its champion 50-foot ice spikes may dot Europa's surface JUICE ASSESSMENT STUDY REPORT (YELLOW BOOK) Juice Science objectives Ganymede ARIANESPACE AND ESA ANNOUNCE JUPITER ICY MOONS EXPLORER LAUNCH CONTRACT
Artist impression of Pioneer 10 at Jupiter. Image credit: NASA/JPL
Images from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft show the intricate detail of Europa’s icy surface. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Artist’s impression of Europa’s interior, based on data obtained by Galileo space probes Credit: NASA
Test facility designed for the Europa Clipper. Credit: NASA/Langley
Graphic shows all the dome, barrel, ring and engine components used to assemble the five major structures of the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) in Block 1 configuration. Credits: NASA/MSFC
Illustration of Jupiter and Europa with the measurements made by Galileo as it passed through the plume. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Michigan
New science, mined from the archives. Data from NASA Galileo orbiter launched a generation ago yields new evidence of plumes, eruptions of water vapor, from Jupiter's moon Europa.
Artist’s rendering of a possible Europa Lander mission, which would explore the surface of the icy moon in the coming decades. Credit:: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Artist’s impression of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) near Jupiter and one of its moons, Europa. Credit: ESA/AOES
This artist’s concept of Jupiter’s moon Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, illustrates the club sandwich model of its interior oceans. Credit: NASA/JPL
What’s been long-suspected has now been confirmed: Jupiter’s moon Europa has water. As we’ve learned more about the outer Solar System in recent years, Europa has become a high-priority target in the search for life. With this discovery, NASA has just painted a big red bulls-eye on Jupiter’s smallest Galilean moon.
Scientists have found evidence of plate tectonics on Jupiter’s moon Europa. This conceptual illustration of the subduction process (where one plate is forced under another) shows how a cold, brittle, outer portion of Europa’s 20-30 kilometer-thick (roughly 10-20 mile) ice shell moved into the warmer shell interior and was ultimately subsumed. A low-relief subsumption band was created at the surface in the overriding plate, alongside which cryolavas may have erupted. Image credit: Noah Kroese, I.NK
Artist’s impression of Europa’s interior, based on data obtained by Galileo space probes Credit: NASA
This composite image shows suspected plumes of water vapour erupting at the 7 o’clock position off the limb of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The plumes, photographed by Hubble’s Imaging Spectrograph, were seen in silhouette as the moon passed in front of Jupiter. Hubble’s ultraviolet sensitivity allowed for the features, rising over 160 kilometres above Europa’s icy surface, to be discerned. The water is believed to come from a subsurface ocean on Europa. The Hubble data were taken on January 26, 2014. The image of Europa, superimposed on the Hubble data, is assembled from data from the Galileo and Voyager missions. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, W. Sparks (STScI), and the USGS Astrogeology Science Center
This artist’s illustration shows what plumes of water vapour might look like being ejected from Europa’s south pole. Image: NASA, ESA, L. Roth (Southwest Research Institute, USA/University of Cologne, Germany) and M. Kornmesser.
Water molecules emit specific frequencies of infrared light as they interact with solar radiation. Credits: Michael Lentz/NASA Goddard
Artist’s rendering of a possible Europa Lander mission, which would explore the surface of the icy moon in the coming decades. Credit:: NASA/JPL-Caltech
What makes Jupiter's moon Europa so alluring is the possibility that it may possess all the ingredients necessary for life. Scientists have evidence that one of these ingredients, liquid water, is present under the icy surface and may sometimes erupt into space in huge geysers. However, no one has been able to confirm the presence of water in these plumes by direct measurement of the water molecule itself. Now, an international research team led out of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland has detected the water vapor for the first time above Europa's surface. The team measured the vapor by peering at Europa through one of the world's biggest telescopes in Hawaii. Confirming that water vapor is present above Europa helps scientists better understand the inner workings of the moon. Science Paper: Read more: Video Credits: Produced and Edited by: David Ladd (USRA/NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center) Animations by: NASA’s Conceptual Image Lab - Michael Lentz (USRA), Walt Feimer (KBRwyle), Bailee DesRocher (USRA) & NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Lead Scientist: Lucas Paganini Music provided by Killer Tracks: "Cross the Line" - Wally Gagel & Xandy Barry Keck Observatory visuals provided by: Sean Goebel/W. M. Keck Observatory View the Spanish Language version of this video: This video is public domain and along with other supporting visualizations can be downloaded from the Scientific Visualization Studio at: Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/David Ladd If you liked this video, subscribe to the NASA Goddard YouTube channel: Follow NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Instagram Twitter Twitter Facebook: Flickr
Left -Jupiter’s moon Europa, taken on March 2, 1979, by NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft. Middle – Europa, taken by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft on July 9, 1979. Right – a view of Europa made from images taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
A composite image showing suspected plumes of water vapor erupting from Europa. The image of the plume was made from data collected by NASA’s Hubble’s Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph in 2014. The image of Europa itself is made from data from NASA’s Galileo and Voyager missions. Credit: NASA/ESA/W. Sparks (STScI)/USGS Astrogeology Science Center.
Jupiter’s moon Europa is a prime candidate in the search for life. The frozen moon has a subsurface ocean, and evidence indicates it’s warm, salty, and rich in life-enabling chemistry. New research shows that the moon is pulling oxygen down below its icy shell, where it could be feeding simple life.
When charged particles strike Europa’s surface, they split water molecules apart. The lighter hydrogen floats away into space, but the oxygen stays behind. If the oxygen somehow makes its way to the ocean, it could provide chemical energy for microbial life. Image Credit: NASA
Image of Europa’s ice shell, taken by the Galileo spacecraft, of fractured “chaos terrain.” Saltwater pools below chaos terrain may be transporting oxygen to the moon’s ocean. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltec
This figure from the study shows how oxidants are generated and distributed in Europa’s surface ice. Radiolysis sputters H2O into H2 and O, with O recombining into O2. Some of the O2 is released into the moon’s atmosphere, but most of it returns to the icy regolith and is trapped in bubbles. The bubbles are the dominant near-surface reservoir for oxidants. Over thousands of years, the bubbles can make their way down to the ocean. Image Credit: Hesse et al. 2022.
The physics-based model built by the researchers shows a porosity wave (spherical shape) carrying brine and oxygen at Europa’s surface through the moon’s ice shell to the liquid water ocean below. The chart shows time (in thousands of years) and ice shell depth (in kilometres). Red indicates higher levels of oxygen. Blue represents lower levels of oxygen. Credit: Hesse et al. 2022
This illustration shows how volcanism in Europa’s interior might work to maintain a liquid ocean. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Michael Carroll
Artist’s impression of a hypothetical ocean cryobot (a robot capable of penetrating water ice) in Europa. Credit: NASA
These signals were recorded by the Voyager 1 plasma wave instrument as the spacecraft flew past Jupiter on March 5, 1979. Jovian whistler waves propagate at audio frequencies along closed field lines in Jupiter's magnetosphere. Like Earth whistlers, the higher frequency components of the Jovian whistler propagate faster than the lower frequency components, resulting in a descending whistling tone. Also like Earth whistlers, Jovian whistlers are generated by lightning discharges in the atmosphere. It was the detection of these signals that provided the first indirect evidence of lightning on the giant planet. The video shows a spectrogram with time along the horizontal axis, frequency on the vertical axis, and color-coded amplitude with weak signals blue and strong signals red. A moving cursor shows the time of the corresponding audio. For more information on the Voyager project: This is a sample from the collection of Prof Don Gurnett's favorite space audio recordings available from: For similar videos:
Jupiter’s moon Europa taken by the Juno spacecraft’s JunoCam on October 16, 2021, from approximately 82,000 kilometers (51,000 miles). (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Southwest Research Institute/Malin Space Science
False color mosaic of Europa taken by the Galileo spacecraft during its first and fourteenth orbits in the Jupiter system, in 1995 and 1998, respectively. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute)
Artist’s rendition of Europa Clipper above Jupiter’s moon Europa. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
The ridges and troughs on Europa stand out in an image from NASA's Juno orbiter. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Björn Jónsson)
This image from NASA’s Juno spacecraft shows an area of Europa’s surface north of the equator. The prominent pit seen in the lower half of the image might be a degraded impact crater. (NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS)
Artist’s rendering of the Europa “tunnelbot.” (Credit: Alexander Pawlusik, LERCIP Internship Program NASA Glenn Research Center)
Jupiter’s Europa (l) and Saturn’s Enceladus (r). Both moons have icy shells with oceans underneath, and scientists think that Europa has more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined, and it’s likely warm and salty. Missions to study Europa are in the planning stages. Image Credits: NASA
Artist’s concept of the cross-sectional view of Europa depicting the exciting, potentially habitable environment of the ocean world (Credit: K. Hand et al./NASA/JPL)
This figure illustrates the tether design and the test bed used to simulate Europa’s unique conditions. (a) shows the test rig, and the red outlined area is shown in (b). (c) is a schematic of one of the two fibre optic cables tested, called a Linden Photonics High Strength Strong Tether Fibre Optic Cable. Image Credit: NASA/STI
This graphic shows the test results for the two tethers: the Strong Tether Fiber Optic Cable (STFOC) and the HS-STFOC. Both cables are used in ocean submersibles. Image Credit: NASA/STI
NASA’s been wondering about a mission to Europa for many years. The JIMO Europa Lander idea is from the early 2000s and featured a lander with a 30-day mission. While a tunnelling cryobot mission is what everyone wants to see, a preliminary lander mission is a likely first step. Image Credit: By Jet Propulsion Laboratory – Small RPS-Enabled Europa Lander Mission,, Public Domain (from wikipedia)
Watch live as NASA's next outer solar system mission, Europa Clipper, is built and tested in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. NASA's Europa Clipper mission will perform dozens of close flybys of Jupiter’s moon Europa, gathering detailed measurements to investigate whether the moon could have conditions suitable for life. More about the mission and what we hope to learn about this intriguing world: EuropUp Close An In depth at Jupiter's Icy Moon and Europa Clipper plans for investigation You are viewing activities in High Bay 1, a clean room at JPL. : You can see what the completed spacecraft will look like using this 3D model For more about the mission, visit To learn more about the spacecraft’s assembly, visit All chats are moderated. Inappropriate language or posts that harass other individuals will be removed. - Use respectful language - Protect your private information - No spam, sexually explicit or discriminatory material - Stay on topic
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Set to launch in 2024, Europa Clipper is one of the biggest, most-complex craft NASA has ever designed. Larger than a basketball court, and equipped with nine cutting-edge instruments, it’s going to try to answer one of the most-profound questions of all - Are we alone in the universe? Got a beard? Good. I've got something for you: Love content? Check out Simon's other YouTube Channels: Biographics: Geographics: Warographics: SideProjects: Into The Shadows: TopTenz: Today I Found Out: Highlight History: Business Blaze Casual Criminalist: Decoding the Unknown:
Something many people don't know is that most of the water outside of Earth is found on moons beyond Jupiter. NASA reveals first real images of Europa and they prove that Jupiter's moon Europa is home to a massive ocean of salt water and possibly life. You may already know the moon Europa from a popular computer game, and now we'll show you why that computer game might be right!
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This view of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa was captured by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during the mission’s close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0
An unending stream of charged particles from Jupiter strikes Europa’s icy surface, splitting frozen water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen molecules. This has been going on for billions of years. If some of that oxygen has worked its way into the moon’s subsurface ocean, then it boosts the chances that life could exist there. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SWRI/PU
When charged particles strike Europa’s surface, they split water molecules apart. The lighter hydrogen floats away into space, but the oxygen stays behind. If the oxygen somehow makes its way to the ocean, it could provide chemical energy for microbial life. Image Credit: NASA
Image of Europa’s ice shell, taken by the Galileo spacecraft, of fractured “chaos terrain.” In this terrain, cracks, ridges, and plains are all jumbled together. Scientists think that this terrain allows surface oxygen to penetrate the ice and make its way into the subsurface ocean. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
This figure from the 2022 research helps explain how oxygen could make it through the ice and into Europa’s ocean. Some of the O2 is released into the moon’s atmosphere, but most of it returns to the icy regolith and is trapped in bubbles. The bubbles are the dominant near-surface reservoir for oxidants. Over thousands of years, the bubbles can make their way down to the ocean. Image Credit: Hesse et al. 2022.
This figure from the research illustrates Juno’s path through Europa’s torus during the spacecraft’s extended mission. The inset diagram shows how charged particles split H2O molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen escapes into space, but the heavier oxygen sinks back to the surface. Image Credit: Szalay et al. 2024.
Previous investigations proved the existence of local density enhancements in Europa’s atmosphere, advancing the idea of a possible origination from water plumes. These measurement strategies, however, were sensitive either to total absorption or atomic emissions, which limited the ability to assess the water content. Here we present direct searches for water vapour on Europa spanning dates from February 2016 to May 2017 with the Keck Observatory. Our global survey at infrared wavelengths resulted in non-detections on 16 out of 17 dates, with upper limits below the water abundances inferred from previous estimates. On one date (26 April 2016) we measured 2,095 ± 658 tonnes of water vapour a t Europa’s leading hemisphere. We suggest that the outgassing of water vapour on Europa occurs at lower levels than previously estimated, with only rare localized events of stronger activity
Published on Aug 4, 2014 Europa is a moon of Jupiter that may have three crucial ingredients for life: liquid water, energy, and nutrients. What, if anything, can be found in the great oceans of Europa? Could NASA look for life? How could we explore affordably? Bill Nye The Science Guy, eminent NASA scientists, and prominent legislators examined just these questions in a public event inside the halls of Congress. This was recorded live on July 15th, 2014. Recorded by Tushar Dayal. Speakers (in order of appearance): * Casey Dreier (Director of Advocacy for The Planetary Society and event emcee) * Rep. Lamar Smith (Chairman, House Science Committee; Texas 21st District) * Rep. John Culberson (Texas 7th District) * Rep. Adam Schiff (California 21st District) * Dr. Ellen Stofan (Chief Scientist, NASA) * Dr. Robert Pappalardo (Europa Study Scientist, JPL) * Bill Nye, The Science Guy (CEO of The Planetary Society)
Published on Nov 21, 2014 Scientists believe there is an ocean hidden beneath the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. NASA-JPL astrobiologist Kevin Hand explains why scientists are so excited about the potential of this ice-covered world to answer one of humanity's most profound questions
Published on Nov 13, 2015 Could life exist on Europa? It may sound farfetched, but this Jovian moon is the most likely place to find life in our solar system thanks to an enormous underground ocean positioned just beneath its icy surface. Watch as Robert Pappalardo, Europa Project Scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, discusses Europa, its potential for life, and the upcoming mission that is being planned to visit this compelling moon. This video was developed from a live recording at the AIAA SPACE 2015 conference in September 2015. To watch the full talk given at the conference click here Category People & Blogs License Standard YouTube License
We’re now learning that icy worlds seem to be the best places in Solar System where life could be hiding. Worlds like Europa and Enceladus, which have vast oceans of liquid water beneath a shell of water ice. And just in the last year, astrobiologists announced that hardy forms of Earth life should be able to thrive in these oceans, feeding off hydrogen gas emanating from deep sea vents. Clearly we need to explore these worlds, to go deep down beneath the ice to explore the ocean depths. But how do you drill through kilometers of ice to reach it? Sign up to my weekly email newsletter: Support us at: More stories at: Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: Google+ - Instagram - Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain / frasercain@gmail.com @karlaii /Karla Thompson - Chad Weber - Chloe Cain - Instagram: @chloegwen2001 References: EUROPA EXPLORATION OF UNDER-ICE REGIONS WITH
OCEAN PROFILING AGENTS (PDF) Exploration of Under-Ice Regions with Ocean Profiling Agents (EUROPA) APL-UW ICE DIVER A THERMAL ICE PENETRATOR Gladius Submersible Underwater Drone
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Authors: Kiri Wagstaff, Gary Doran, Ashley Davies, Saadat Anwar, Srija Chakraborty, Marissa Cameron, Ingrid Daubar and Cynthia Phillips More on Category People & Blogs Music in this video Learn more Listen ad-free with YouTube Premium Song BER1277_71 - Clediss-14494 Artist Thomas Stempfle, GEMA|Tom Sue, GEMA Album BER1277Intense Electronica 3 Licensed to YouTube by AdRev for a 3rd Party (on behalf of Berlin Production Music|Ed.Berlin Production Music/Universal Production Music GmbH, GEMA|Killer Tracks (UPPM)); AdRev Publishing
Could a liquid water ocean beneath the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa have the ingredients to support life? Here's how NASA's mission to Europa would find out.
We’re now learning that icy worlds seem to be the best places in Solar System where life could be hiding. Worlds like Europa and Enceladus, which have vast oceans of liquid water beneath a shell of water ice. And just in the last year, astrobiologists announced that hardy forms of Earth life should be able to thrive in these oceans, feeding off hydrogen gas emanating from deep sea vents. Clearly we need to explore these worlds, to go deep down beneath the ice to explore the ocean depths. But how do you drill through kilometers of ice to reach it? Sign up to my weekly email newsletter: Support us at:Support us at: Follow us on Tumblr: More stories at Follow us on Twitter: @universetoday Like us on Facebook: Instagram - Team: Fraser Cain - @fcain/ Karla Thompson - @karlaii / Chad Weber - Chloe Cain - Instagram: @chloegwen2001 References: NASA REPORT ON EXPLORING EUROPA UNDER ICE (PDF)
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Dr. Lucas Paganini and a team of NASA scientists have used Keck observatory to confirm the detection of water vapor on the Jupiter moon Europa. NASA Scientists Confirm Water Vapor on Europa Want to support the channel? Patreon: Follow us at other places! Website: Twitter: Instagram: Music featured on Event Horizon
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Previous investigations proved the existence of local density enhancements in Europa’s atmosphere, advancing the idea of a possible origination from water plumes. These measurement strategies, however, were sensitive either to total absorption or atomic emissions, which limited the ability to assess the water content. Here we present direct searches for water vapour on Europa spanning dates from February 2016 to May 2017 with the Keck Observatory. Our global survey at infrared wavelengths resulted in non-detections on 16 out of 17 dates, with upper limits below the water abundances inferred from previous estimates. On one date (26 April 2016) we measured 2,095 ± 658 tonnes of water vapour a t Europa’s leading hemisphere. We suggest that the outgassing of water vapour on Europa occurs at lower levels than previously estimated, with only rare localized events of stronger activity
NASA REPORT ON EXPLORING EUROPA UNDER ICE (PDF)
In this video I piece together a plausible timeline of Europa's distant past and future. Intro, outro and many other clips in this video were made with Space Engine. Music: 1. Kevin MacLeod - Ossuary 5 Rest 2. Kevin MacLeod - Ossuary 6 Air 3. Kevin MacLeod - Ossuary 1 A Beginning 4. Kevin MacLeod - Metaphysik 5. Kevin MacLeod - Crypto 6. Huma Huma - Nevada City
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