In the absence of direct observations of Europa’s particle plumes, deposits left behind during eruptive events would provide the best evidence for recent geological activity, and would serve as indicators […]
Europa
Posted inEuropa, Press Release
Water Vapor Confirmed On Europa
Forty years ago, a Voyager spacecraft snapped the first closeup images of Europa, one of Jupiter’s 79 moons. These revealed brownish cracks slicing the moon’s icy surface, which give Europa […]
Posted inEuropa, Icy Worlds, Press Release
H2O2 Within Chaos Terrain on Europa’s Leading Hemisphere
Hydrogen peroxide is part of an important radiolytic cycle on Europa and may be a critical source of oxidants to the putative subsurface ocean. The surface geographic distribution of hydrogen […]
Posted inEuropa
Table Salt Compound Spotted on Europa
A familiar ingredient has been hiding in plain sight on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Using a visible-light spectral analysis, planetary scientists at Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory […]
Posted inEuropa
NASA OIG Audit: Management Of NASA's Europa Mission
WHY WE PERFORMED THIS AUDIT Scientists believe that Europa, one of Jupiter’s 79 known moons, may have a large liquid ocean below its icy surface suitable to sustain life. The […]
Posted inEuropa, Press Release
How Salts on the Surface Could Aid in Modeling Europa's Ocean
Even though there are planned missions to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa, they are unlikely to sample the depths of its potentially habitable ocean So a new paper, published in the […]
Posted inEuropa, Press Release
A Magnetically Driven Equatorial Jet in Europa's Ocean
During recent decades, data from space missions have provided strong evidence of deep liquid oceans underneath a thin outer icy crust on several moons of Jupiter, particularly Europa. But these […]
Posted inEuropa, Press Release
Self-Assembling Ice Membranes on Europa
Brinicles are self-assembling tubular ice membrane structures, centimeters to meters in length, found beneath sea ice in the polar regions of Earth. We discuss how the properties of brinicles make […]
Posted inEuropa, Press Release
NASA Seeks New Options for Science Instrument on Europa Clipper
NASA has decided to replace the current magnetometer on the upcoming Europa Clipper mission with a less complex instrument. The Europa Clipper mission, launching in the 2020s, will be the […]
Posted inEuropa, Press Release
A Search For Signatures Of Europa's Atmosphere And Plumes In Galileo Charged Particle Data
Remote sensing observations indicate that Europa is surrounded by a tenuous atmosphere. Furthermore, recent observations and historic data from Galileo hint at the occurrence of water vapour eruptions originating from […]