vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Evidence for an Ocean | Why Europa – NASA's Europa Clipper
Evidence for an Ocean | Why Europa – NASA's Europa Clipper

NASA

Europa Clipper

Skip Navigation

menu

close modal

Why Europa

Evidence for an Ocean

Why Europa

MENU

Overview

Europa Up Close

Ingredients for Life

Evidence for an Ocean

Jupiter's moon Europa may have an ocean more than twice the size of Earth's oceans combined. Why do scientists think so? Find out in 60 seconds. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

What makes us think that Europa has an ocean?
Europa and her three large sibling satellites - Io, Ganymede and Callisto - were discovered by the astronomer Galileo in 1610, but nearly 400 years passed before any detailed views of their surfaces were seen and the uniqueness of these "Galilean" moons was revealed. In the 1960s, ground-based telescope observations determined that Europa's surface composition is mostly water ice, as are most other solid bodies of the outer solar system.
The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft flew by Jupiter in the early 1970s, but the first spacecraft to image the surfaces of Jupiter's moons in significant detail were the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. Voyager 1's closest approach to Jupiter occurred in March 1979, with Voyager 2 following in July of the same year. The best imaging resolution of the Voyagers was limited to just over 1 mile (2 kilometers) per pixel. These images revealed a surface brighter than that of Earth's moon, crisscrossed with numerous bands and ridges, and with a surprising lack of large impact craters, tall cliffs or mountains (in other words, a very smooth surface, relative to the other icy moons).

Learn about the history of exploring Europa

History

Even though the Voyagers did not pass extremely close to Europa, their images were of high enough quality that researchers noted some of the dark bands had opposite sides that matched each other extremely well, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. These cracks had separated, and dark, icy material appeared to have flowed into the opened gaps, suggesting that the surface had been active at some time in the past.
Juno Observes Jupiter, Io and Europa – NASA's Europa Clipper
A full-scale prototype antenna, which at 10 feet tall is the same height as a standard basketball hoop, is in the Experimental Test Range (ETR) at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Europa Clipper High Gain Antenna Undergoes Testing at Langley

New comprehensive mapping of the radiation pummeling Jupiter’s icy moon Europa reveals where scientists should look -- and how deep they’ll have to go -- when searching for signs of habitability and biosignatures.

Radiation Maps of Europa: Key to Future Missions

New animation shows how “bands” and “grooves” in the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa could transport subsurface water to the moon’s surface. 

Europa's Ocean Ascending

Scientists re-examining data from an old mission bring new insights to the tantalizing question of whether Jupiter’s moon Europa has the ingredients to support life.

Old Data Reveal New Evidence of Europa Plumes

NASA will host a Science Chat at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT Monday, May 14), to discuss the latest analysis of Jupiter’s moon Europa and its status as one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for life.

NASA Hosts Live Discussion about Europa Findings, Potential for Life

The Europa Clipper project team continues to grow as we move into more detailed design of the equipment, and it is gratifying to see such a geographically distributed team work well together. 

The Sextant: Europa Clipper Newsletter

Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

NASA Missions Provide New Insights into 'Ocean Worlds' in Our Solar System

NASA's upcoming mission to investigate the habitability of Jupiter's icy moon Europa now has a formal name: Europa Clipper.

NASA Mission Named 'Europa Clipper'

A mission to examine the habitability of Jupiter's ocean-bearing moon Europa is taking one step closer to the launchpad, with the recent completion of a major NASA review.

NASA's Europa Flyby Mission Moves into Design Phase

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa.
Europa Glows: Radiation Does a Bright Number on Jupiter's Moon – NASA's Europa Clipper
New comprehensive mapping of the radiation pummeling Jupiter’s icy moon Europa reveals where scientists should look -- and how deep they’ll have to go -- when searching for signs of habitability and biosignatures.

Radiation Maps of Europa: Key to Future Missions

New animation shows how “bands” and “grooves” in the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa could transport subsurface water to the moon’s surface. 

Europa's Ocean Ascending

Scientists re-examining data from an old mission bring new insights to the tantalizing question of whether Jupiter’s moon Europa has the ingredients to support life.

Old Data Reveal New Evidence of Europa Plumes

NASA will host a Science Chat at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT Monday, May 14), to discuss the latest analysis of Jupiter’s moon Europa and its status as one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for life.

NASA Hosts Live Discussion about Europa Findings, Potential for Life

The Europa Clipper project team continues to grow as we move into more detailed design of the equipment, and it is gratifying to see such a geographically distributed team work well together. 

The Sextant: Europa Clipper Newsletter

This color-enhanced image of Jupiter and two of its largest moons – Io and Europa – was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it performed its eighth flyby of the gas giant planet.

Juno Observes Jupiter, Io and Europa

Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn.

NASA Missions Provide New Insights into 'Ocean Worlds' in Our Solar System

NASA's upcoming mission to investigate the habitability of Jupiter's icy moon Europa now has a formal name: Europa Clipper.

NASA Mission Named 'Europa Clipper'

A mission to examine the habitability of Jupiter's ocean-bearing moon Europa is taking one step closer to the launchpad, with the recent completion of a major NASA review.

NASA's Europa Flyby Mission Moves into Design Phase

Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have imaged what may be water vapor plumes erupting off the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa.
NASA’s Juno Provides High-Definition Views of Europa’s Icy Shell - NASA
Another high-resolution picture of the icy moon, by the spacecraft’s Stellar Reference Unit (SRU), reveals signs of possible plume activity and an area of ice shell disruption where brine may have recently bubbled to the surface.
The JunoCam results recently appeared in the Planetary Science Journal and the SRU results in the journal JGR Planets.
On Sept. 29, 2022, Juno made its closest flyby of Europa, coming within 220 miles (355 kilometers) of the moon’s frozen surface. The four pictures taken by JunoCam and one by the SRU are the first high-resolution images of Europa since Galileo’s last flyby in 2000.
True Polar Wander
Juno’s ground track over Europa allowed imaging near the moon’s equator. When analyzing the data, the JunoCam team found that along with the expected ice blocks, walls, scarps, ridges, and troughs, the camera also captured irregularly distributed steep-walled depressions 12 to 31 miles (20 to 50 kilometers) wide. They resemble large ovoid pits previously found in imagery from other locations of Europa.
 

This black-and-white image of Europa’s surface was taken by the Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during the Sept. 29, 2022, flyby. The chaos feature nicknamed “the Platypus” is seen in the lower right corner.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI 

This annotated image of Europa’s surface from Juno’s SRU shows the location of a double ridge running east-west (blue box) with possible plume stains and the chaos feature the team calls “the Platypus” (orange box). These features hint at current surface activity and the presence of subsurface liquid water on the icy Jovian moon. 

A giant ocean is thought to reside below Europa’s icy exterior, and these surface features have been associated with “true polar wander,” a theory that Europa’s outer ice shell is essentially free-floating and moves.
NASA’s Webb Finds Carbon Source on Surface of Jupiter’s Moon Europa - NASA
article

1 day ago

 

18 min read

40 Years Ago: NASA Selects its 10th Group of Astronauts

article

2 days ago

Highlights

 

6 min read

Diez maneras en que los estudiantes pueden prepararse para ser astronautas

article

2 months ago

 

4 min read

Astronauta de la NASA Marcos Berríos

article

3 months ago

 

8 min read

Resultados científicos revolucionarios en la estación espacial de 2023

article

3 months ago

5 min readNASA’s Webb Finds Carbon Source on Surface of Jupiter’s Moon EuropaNASA Webb Telescope TeamSep 21, 2023 Article

Contents

A Surface-Ocean Connection

Searching for a Plume

Astronomers using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have identified carbon dioxide in a specific region on the icy surface of Jupiters moon Europa.Jupiter’s moon Europa is one of a handful of worlds in our solar system that could potentially harbor conditions suitable for life. Previous research has shown that beneath its water-ice crust lies a salty ocean of liquid water with a rocky seafloor. However, planetary scientists had not confirmed if that ocean contained the chemicals needed for life, particularly carbon.
Astronomers using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have identified carbon dioxide in a specific region on the icy surface of Europa. Analysis indicates that this carbon likely originated in the subsurface ocean and was not delivered by meteorites or other external sources. Moreover, it was deposited on a geologically recent timescale. This discovery has important implications for the potential habitability of Europa’s ocean.

This graphic shows a map of Europa’s surface with NIRCam (Near Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope in the first panel and compositional maps derived from Webb’s NIRSpec/IFU (Near Infrared Spectrograph’s Integral Field Unit) data in the following three panels.
Newly Reprocessed Images of Europa Show 'Chaos Terrain' in Crisp Detail
At an average of 40 million to 90 million years old, the surface we see today is much younger than Europa itself, which formed along with the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. In fact, Europa has among the youngest surfaces in the solar system, one of its many intriguing oddities.The long, linear ridges and bands that crisscross Europa's surface are thought to be related to the response of Europa's icy surface crust as it is stretched and pulled by Jupiter's strong gravity. Ridges may form when a crack in the surface opens and closes repeatedly, building up a feature that's typically a few hundred yards tall, a few miles wide and can span horizontally for thousands of miles.In contrast, bands are locations where cracks appear to have continued pulling apart horizontally, producing wide, relatively flat features.Areas of so-called chaos terrain contain blocks that have moved sideways, rotated or tilted before being refrozen into their new locations. To understand how they might have formed, scientists study these blocks as if they are jumbled puzzle pieces.The Galileo mission was managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Additional information about Galileo and its discoveries is available on the Galileo mission home page at:http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/galileo/More information about Europa and Europa Clipper is available at:europa.nasa.gov 
 News Media Contact
 Gretchen McCartney Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-393-6215 gretchen.p.mccartney@jpl.nasa.govGrey Hautaluoma / Alana Johnson NASA Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668 / 202-358-1501 grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov 
 2020-088
 
 Related News
 
 Solar System
 . 
 NASA’s Europa Clipper Makes Cross-Country Flight to Florida
 
 Solar System
 . 
 NASA’s Psyche Fires Up Its Sci-Fi-Worthy Thrusters
 
 Solar System
 . 
 NASA’s Juno Provides High-Definition Views of Europa’s Icy Shell
 
 Mars
 . 
 NASA Scientists Gear Up for Solar Storms at Mars
 
 Solar System
 .
Jupiter - NASA Science
Europa Clipper will launch in October 2024 to study Jupiter's icy moon, Europa.Read MoreNASA's Juno spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Aug. 5, 2011. NASA/Bill IngallsMoons of JupiterJupiter has 95 moons that have been officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union.But the number doesn't capture the complexity of the Jovian system of moons, rings and asteroids. The giant planet has thousands of small objects in its orbit. Read MoreThis "family portrait" composite of the Jovian system includes the edge of Jupiter with its Great Red Spot, and Jupiter's four largest moons, known as the Galilean satellites. From top to bottom, the moons shown are Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.NASAJupiter ResourcesExplore a curated collection of Jupiter resources, including activities that can be done at home, as well as videos, animations, posters, and online interactives.These resources are suitable for educators, students, and anyone interested in learning more about Jupiter!Read MoreNASA's Juno spacecraft saw this striking vista during a close flyby of Jupiter. NASAUnable to render the provided sourceEyes on the Solar System lets you explore the planets, their moons, asteroids, and comets.NASA/JPL-CaltechAll Science MissionsEuropa Clipperfuture MissionEuropa Clipper will search for signs of potential habitability on Jupiter's icy ocean moon Europa.Learn MoreTechnicians offload NASA’s largest planetary mission spacecraft, Europa Clipper, from a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, May 23, 2024. Crews will prepare it for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Florida spaceport, targeting liftoff on Tuesday, June 25.
Europa Glows: Radiation Does a Bright Number on Jupiter's Moon – NASA's Europa Clipper
Europa Glows: Radiation Does a Bright Number on Jupiter's Moon – NASA's Europa Clipper

NASA

Europa Clipper

Skip Navigation

menu

close modal

Feature

|
November 9, 2020

Europa Glows: Radiation Does a Bright Number on Jupiter's Moon

This illustration of Jupiter's moon Europa shows how the icy surface may glow on its nightside, the side facing away from the Sun. Variations in the glow and the color of the glow itself could reveal information about the composition of ice on Europa's su Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Full Image Details

New lab experiments re-create the environment of Europa and find that the icy moon shines, even on its nightside. The effect is more than just a cool visual.

As the icy, ocean-filled moon Europa orbits Jupiter, it withstands a relentless pummeling of radiation. Jupiter zaps Europa's surface night and day with electrons and other particles, bathing it in high-energy radiation. But as these particles pound the moon's surface, they may also be doing something otherworldly: making Europa glow in the dark.
New research from scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California details for the first time what the glow would look like, and what it could reveal about the composition of ice on Europa's surface. Different salty compounds react differently to the radiation and emit their own unique glimmer. To the naked eye, this glow would look sometimes slightly green, sometimes slightly blue or white and with varying degrees of brightness, depending on what material it is.
Scientists use a spectrometer to separate the light into wavelengths and connect the distinct "signatures," or spectra, to different compositions of ice. Most observations using a spectrometer on a moon like Europa are taken using reflected sunlight on the moon's dayside, but these new results illuminate what Europa would look like in the dark.
"We were able to predict that this nightside ice glow could provide additional information on Europa's surface composition.
Icy Moonquakes: Surface Shaking Could Trigger Landslides – NASA's Europa Clipper
Catch NASA's JPL at the Clippers SciFest This Weekend

NASA has decided to replace the current magnetometer on the upcoming Europa Clipper mission with a less complex instrument. 

NASA Seeks New Options for Science Instrument on Europa Clipper

New comprehensive mapping of the radiation pummeling Jupiter’s icy moon Europa reveals where scientists should look -- and how deep they’ll have to go -- when searching for signs of habitability and biosignatures.

Radiation Maps of Europa: Key to Future Missions

New animation shows how “bands” and “grooves” in the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa could transport subsurface water to the moon’s surface. 

Europa's Ocean Ascending

Scientists re-examining data from an old mission bring new insights to the tantalizing question of whether Jupiter’s moon Europa has the ingredients to support life.

Old Data Reveal New Evidence of Europa Plumes

NASA will host a Science Chat at 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT Monday, May 14), to discuss the latest analysis of Jupiter’s moon Europa and its status as one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for life.

NASA Hosts Live Discussion about Europa Findings, Potential for Life

The Europa Clipper project team continues to grow as we move into more detailed design of the equipment, and it is gratifying to see such a geographically distributed team work well together. 

The Sextant: Europa Clipper Newsletter

This color-enhanced image of Jupiter and two of its largest moons – Io and Europa – was captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft as it performed its eighth flyby of the gas giant planet.

Juno Observes Jupiter, Io and Europa

NASA's upcoming mission to investigate the habitability of Jupiter's icy moon Europa now has a formal name: Europa Clipper.

NASA Mission Named 'Europa Clipper'

A mission to examine the habitability of Jupiter's ocean-bearing moon Europa is taking one step closer to the launchpad, with the recent completion of a major NASA review.

NASA's Europa Flyby Mission Moves into Design Phase
NASA’s Webb Finds Carbon Source on Surface of Jupiter’s Moon Europa - NASA
News & Events
Multimedia
NASA+
Missions
Humans in Space
Earth & Climate
The Solar System
The Universe
Science
Aeronautics
Technology
Learning Resources
About NASA
NASA en Español

Follow NASA

More NASA Social Accounts
NASA Newsletters

Sitemap
For Media
Privacy Policy
FOIA
No FEAR Act
Office of the IG
Budget & Annual Reports
Agency Financial Reports
Contact NASA
Accessibility

	Page Last Updated:	

	Sep 27, 2023	

	Page Editor:	

	Marty McCoy	

	Responsible NASA Official:	

	Abigail Bowman
NASA’s Juno Provides High-Definition Views of Europa’s Icy Shell - NASA
article

13 hours ago

 

18 min read

40 Years Ago: NASA Selects its 10th Group of Astronauts

article

1 day ago

Highlights

 

6 min read

Diez maneras en que los estudiantes pueden prepararse para ser astronautas

article

2 months ago

 

4 min read

Astronauta de la NASA Marcos Berríos

article

3 months ago

 

8 min read

Resultados científicos revolucionarios en la estación espacial de 2023

article

3 months ago

5 min readNASA’s Juno Provides High-Definition Views of Europa’s Icy ShellJet Propulsion LaboratoryMay 15, 2024 Article

Contents

True Polar Wander

The Platypus

More About the Mission

News Media Contacts

Jupiter’s moon Europa was captured by the JunoCam instrument aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during the mission’s close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The images show the fractures, ridges, and bands that crisscross the moon’s surface.
Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS. Image processing: Björn Jónsson (CC BY 3.0)

Imagery from the solar-powered spacecraft shows some intriguing features on the ice-encased Jovian moon.
Images from the JunoCam visible-light camera aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft supports the theory that the icy crust at the north and south poles of Jupiter’s moon Europa is not where it used to be. Another high-resolution picture of the icy moon, by the spacecraft’s Stellar Reference Unit (SRU), reveals signs of possible plume activity and an area of ice shell disruption where brine may have recently bubbled to the surface.
The JunoCam results recently appeared in the Planetary Science Journal and the SRU results in the journal JGR Planets.
On Sept. 29, 2022, Juno made its closest flyby of Europa, coming within 220 miles (355 kilometers) of the moon’s frozen surface. The four pictures taken by JunoCam and one by the SRU are the first high-resolution images of Europa since Galileo’s last flyby in 2000.
Icy Moonquakes: Surface Shaking Could Trigger Landslides – NASA's Europa Clipper
Europa's Interior May Be Hot Enough to Fuel Seafloor Volcanoes

Scientists have theorized on the origin of the water plumes possibly erupting from Jupiter's moon Europa. Recent research adds a new potential source to the mix.

Potential Plumes on Europa Could Come From Water in the Crust

New lab experiments re-create the environment of Europa and find that the icy moon shines, even on its nightside. The effect is more than just a cool visual.

Europa Glows: Radiation Does a Bright Number on Jupiter's Moon

The surface of Jupiter's moon Europa features a widely varied landscape, including ridges, bands, small rounded domes and disrupted spaces that geologists call "chaos terrain." Three newly reprocessed images, taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s, reveal details in diverse surface features on Europa.

Newly Reprocessed Images of Europa Show 'Chaos Terrain' in Crisp Detail

Scientists discovered that the yellow color visible on portions of the surface of Europa is actually sodium chloride, a compound known on Earth as table salt, which is also the principal component of sea salt.

Table Salt Compound Spotted on Europa

A full-scale prototype antenna, which at 10 feet tall is the same height as a standard basketball hoop, is in the Experimental Test Range (ETR) at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

Europa Clipper High Gain Antenna Undergoes Testing at Langley

Students and families can meet a Mars rover, take a virtual tour through our solar system and explore alien worlds with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the Clippers SciFest SoCal.

Catch NASA's JPL at the Clippers SciFest This Weekend

NASA has decided to replace the current magnetometer on the upcoming Europa Clipper mission with a less complex instrument. 

NASA Seeks New Options for Science Instrument on Europa Clipper

New comprehensive mapping of the radiation pummeling Jupiter’s icy moon Europa reveals where scientists should look -- and how deep they’ll have to go -- when searching for signs of habitability and biosignatures.

Radiation Maps of Europa: Key to Future Missions