Europa

Europa, or Jupiter II is the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting Jupiter, and the sixth-closest to the planet of all the 95 known moons of Jupiter. It is also the sixth-largest moon in the Solar System. Europa was discovered independently by Simon Marius and Galileo Galilei and was named (by Marius) after Europa, the Phoenician mother of King Minos of Crete and lover of Zeus (the Greek equivalent of the Roman god Jupiter). It orbits between Io and Ganymede.
Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is made of silicate rock and has a water-ice crust and probably an iron–nickel core. It has a very thin atmosphere, composed primarily of oxygen. Its geologically young white-beige surface is striated by light tan cracks and streaks, with very few impact craters. In addition to Earth-bound telescope observations, Europa has been examined by a succession of space-probe flybys, the first occurring in the early 1970s. In September 2022, the Juno spacecraft flew within about 320 km (200 miles) of Europa for a more recent close-up view.
Europa has the smoothest surface of any known solid object in the Solar System. The apparent youth and smoothness of the surface have led to the hypothesis that a water ocean exists beneath the surface, which could conceivably harbor extraterrestrial life. The predominant model suggests that heat from tidal flexing causes the ocean to remain liquid and drives ice movement similar to plate tectonics, absorbing chemicals from the surface into the ocean below. Sea salt from a subsurface ocean may be coating some geological features on Europa, suggesting that the ocean is interacting with the sea floor. This may be important in determining whether Europa could be habitable. In addition, the Hubble Space Telescope detected water vapor plumes similar to those observed on Saturn's moon Enceladus, which are thought to be caused by erupting cryogeysers. In May 2018, astronomers provided supporting evidence of water plume activity on Europa, based on an updated analysis of data obtained from the Galileo space probe, which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003. Such plume activity could help researchers in a search for life from the subsurface Europan ocean without having to land on the moon. In March 2024, astronomers reported that the surface of Europa may have much less oxygen than previously inferred.
The Galileo mission, launched in 1989, provides the bulk of current data on Europa. No spacecraft has yet landed on Europa, although there have been several proposed exploration missions. The European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE) is a mission to Ganymede launched on April 14, 2023, that will include two flybys of Europa. NASA's Europa Clipper is expected to be launched in October 2024, with a complementary lander possible based on its findings.
Europa is not to be confused with a certain asteroid of a similar name. Europa and Europe (one of Earth's continents) both sound very similar and can easily cause confusion. Europa is also the birthplace of the BFDI Human Kids. Ironically enough, traditional Europan inhabitants, languages, and cultures are very anologous to Celtic cultures and traditions, as many of Europa's geological features are named after Celtic mythological figures and locations. Especially the Pwyll crater, where the country of Pwyllia is located in.
Europa is the 6th moon of Jupiter and the 3rd most populated of the four large Galilean moons, only behind Ganymede and Callisto.
Category:Moons
Category:Moons belonging to Gas Giant Planets
Category:Moons belonging to Gaseous Planets
Category:Moons belonging to Outer Planets
Category:Moons belonging to Jupiter
Category:Planet-like Moons
Category:Solar System objects
Category:Locations