vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Europa: A World of Ice, With Potential for Life – NASA's Europa Clipper
A meteorite collides with a planet and ejects surface material containing microbes. The rocky chunks float through space until some collide with another planet. Life then springs forth on a new world.
If life existed on Earth and Mars, it didn’t necessarily start on both worlds. Instead, life may have evolved on one of the two planets, then traveled to the other. We know the two planets swap rocks because Mars rocks have been found on Earth.
The outer solar system is another story. Planets are far more spread out, making rock-swapping more challenging. For example, the orbits of Mars and Earth are about 34 million miles (54.6 million kilometers) apart. But the orbit of Jupiter, the next planet beyond Mars, is about three times farther away.
If life exists in Europa, it likely evolved entirely separate from life on Earth. And if life sprung forth separately on two worlds around the same star, humans could infer that life begins often and easily when the conditions are right. We could further reason that life is likely to be found throughout the cosmos.
Icy Moons as Ocean Worlds
The outer solar system contains several ocean worlds. Among them are two of Europa’s neighbors.
Scientists think Jupiter’s moons Ganymede and Callisto have oceans, sandwiched between layers of ice. High-energy particles around Jupiter generate chemical compounds on the moons’ surfaces that living things might find useful. But the outer ice shell of both moons is probably 100 miles (150 kilometers) thick. And neither moon shows signs of geologic activity that might transport those compounds to their oceans. Ganymede and Callisto also may have a seafloor layer of ice, preventing chemical nutrients from entering the moons' oceans from the rocky mantle below.
Europa's ocean, however, is close to its surface. Its ice shell is probably 10 to 15 miles (15 to 25 kilometers) thick, on average. Europa also seems likely to have present-day geologic activity that might transport surface compounds to its ocean.

In contrast to Ganymede and Callisto, Europa’s ocean is also probably in direct contact with warm rock at the seafloor.
Europa's Interior May Be Hot Enough to Fuel Seafloor Volcanoes – NASA's Europa Clipper
Greenland Ice, Jupiter Moon Share Similar Feature

Jupiter’s moon Europa and its global ocean may currently have conditions suitable for life. Scientists are studying processes on the icy surface as they prepare to explore.

Surface of Jupiter's Moon Europa Churned by Small Impacts

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may be the most promising place in the solar system to find present-day environments suitable for life beyond Earth. 

Europa: A World of Ice, With Potential for Life

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.

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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.
Europa Clipper High Gain Antenna Undergoes Testing at Langley – NASA's Europa Clipper
Jupiter’s moon Europa and its global ocean may currently have conditions suitable for life. Scientists are studying processes on the icy surface as they prepare to explore.

Surface of Jupiter's Moon Europa Churned by Small Impacts

Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may be the most promising place in the solar system to find present-day environments suitable for life beyond Earth. 

Europa: A World of Ice, With Potential for Life

Jupiter’s moon Europa has an icy crust covering a vast, global ocean. The rocky layer underneath may be hot enough to melt, leading to undersea volcanoes.

Europa's Interior May Be Hot Enough to Fuel Seafloor Volcanoes

Jupiter’s moon Europa may have the potential to harbor life. The spacecraft will use multiple flybys of the moon to investigate the habitability of this ocean world.

NASA's Europa Clipper Builds Hardware, Moves Toward Assembly

In an unprecedented year, the Europa Clipper project continues on the path toward unprecedented science. 

On the Path Towards Unprecedented Science

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

An icy ocean world in our solar system that could tell us more about the potential for life on other worlds is coming into focus with confirmation of the Europa Clipper mission's next phase. 

Mission to Jupiter's Icy Moon Confirmed
Europa's Ocean May Have An Earthlike Chemical Balance – NASA's Europa Clipper
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 Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes Erupting on Jupiter's Moon Europa

Jupiter’s moon Europa is considered one of the most promising places in the solar system to search for signs of present-day life, and a new NASA mission to explore this potential is moving forward from concept review to development.

All Systems Go for NASA's Mission to Jupiter Moon Europa

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Agenor Linea on Europa 

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Gravity/Radio Science

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Ingredients for Life | Why Europa – NASA's Europa Clipper
Some of these essential chemical elements may be located within Europa’s icy shell today. Other essential chemical elements may originate from Europa’s core and the weathering of the moon’s rocky interior. Tidal flexing is a heating system that can cycle water and nutrients among the moon's rocky interior, ice shell, and ocean. This could create a watery environment rich with chemistry conducive to life.
Energy

Energy
The third ingredient for life is energy. All lifeforms need energy to survive. On Earth, most of that energy comes from the Sun. For example, plants grow and thrive through photosynthesis, a process that converts sunlight into energy. The energy is transferred to humans, animals, and other organisms when the plants are eaten.
But the type of life that might inhabit Europa likely would be powered purely by chemical reactions instead of by photosynthesis, because any life at Europa would exist beneath the ice, where there is no sunlight. 

Europa's surface is blasted by radiation from Jupiter. That's a bad thing for life on the surface – it couldn't survive. But the radiation may create fuel for life in an ocean below the surface. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Europa's surface is blasted by radiation from Jupiter. That's a bad thing for life on the surface – it couldn't survive. But the radiation may create fuel for life in an ocean below the surface.
The radiation splits apart water molecules (H2O, made of oxygen and hydrogen) in Europa's extremely tenuous atmosphere. The hydrogen floats away and much of the oxygen stays behind and may bind to other elements. Oxygen is a very reactive element, which means it could potentially be used in chemical reactions that release energy. If the oxygen somehow makes its way to the ocean, it could react with other chemicals to possibly provide chemical energy for microbial life.
Europa’s ocean is also probably in direct contact with warm rock at the seafloor. As Europa revolves around the gas giant, the icy moon’s interior flexes.
Europa: A World of Ice, With Potential for Life – NASA's Europa Clipper
Do compounds useful to microbes make their way from the moon’s surface and rocky mantle into the ocean? If Europa’s ocean is erupting into space as plumes, what can sampling the plumes reveal about its composition?
Answering those questions might guide us toward answering the real question – the BIG question.
The Big Question
Does Europa harbor life?
As yet, we have no evidence for life at Europa, but…
Between 50 and 80 percent of life on Earth is in the ocean. Not only plants, coral, fish, and mammals, but also extremophiles — organisms that survive in extreme environments. They live in freezing realms below arctic sea ice and in the boiling temperatures and crushing pressures around deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
Europa also seems to have life’s secret ingredient: time.
Earth’s oldest fossils are 3.5 billions years old. That means life got a foothold on our planet soon after conditions allowed it to survive. And Europa’s ocean may have existed for billions of years.
Given what we know about the ingredients for life, how quickly life sprung forth on Earth once conditions allowed it, and that life finds ways to survive in extreme environments, Europa is the premiere place to seek life beyond Earth.

Deep Dive on Jupiter’s moon Europa Infographic

Learn more about the mysterious ocean world, Europa.

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Featured Resources

MASPEX

Spacecraft Makers: Testing Europa Clipper's Magnetometer

Agenor Linea on Europa 

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