Galileo's Europa
Explanation:
Looping through the Jovian system in the late 1990s, the
Galileo spacecraft
recorded stunning views of Europa and uncovered
evidence that the moon's icy surface likely hides
a deep, global ocean.
Galileo's Europa image data has been
remastered here, with improved calibrations to produce a
color image approximating what the human eye might see.
Europa's long curving fractures
hint
at the subsurface liquid water.
The tidal flexing
the large moon experiences in its elliptical orbit
around Jupiter supplies the energy to keep the ocean liquid.
But more
tantalizing is the possibility
that even in the
absence of sunlight that process could also supply the energy to
support life,
making Europa
one of the best places to look for life
beyond Earth.
What kind of life could thrive in a deep, dark, subsurface ocean?
Consider planet Earth's own
extreme
shrimp.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
