We may not need to bore through miles of ice to see life on extraterrestrial moons.
Icy moons like Europa and Enceladus are exciting venues for the prospect of life beyond Earth, because they are thought to contain oceans of water beneath their frigid surfaces. Now, a team of scientists has concluded that a single grain of material spewed up by the outgassing moons could contain biosignatures—signs of life—if there are any to detect. The team’s research was published today in Science Advances.
’s Europa Clipper, and ESA’s JUICE mission to the Jovian moons Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa. ’s Juno mission is already in the orbit of Jupiter, and will explore the planet’s moons in an extended mission. Earlier this week, a different team of planetary scientists determined that the ice shell on Europa is at least 12.43 miles thick. That doesn’t grok with previous estimates of the moon’s ice, which suggested a thin layer covering a thick ocean.
Reveals ‘Message in a Bottle’ Concept for Upcoming Europa Mission
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