Convection in icy moon oceans is strongly influenced by rotation, organizing into slantwise columnar structures aligned with the planetary rotation axis. They generate significant meridional heat transport, which can affect […]
Icy Moon
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Dione, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mimas, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Rhea, Saturn, Tethys, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Low-Energy and Low-Thrust Exploration Tour of Saturnian Moons with Full Lunar Surface Coverage
This study presents the trajectory design for a mission touring Saturn’s Inner Large Moons (Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas) engineered to meet observational requirements, including full surface coverage, while […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Microbial Diversity Discovered In Lake Enigma, Antarctica
Scientists have discovered a thriving microbial ecosystem beneath 14 metres of ice covering Antarcticaās Lake Enigma, a previously thought-to-be entirely frozen lake.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Weather Systems On Icy Moons With Application To Enceladus
We explore ocean circulation on a rotating icy moon driven by temperature gradients imposed at its upper surface due to the suppression of the freezing point of water with pressure, […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Neptune, Status Report, Triton, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Triton’s Captured Youth: Tidal Heating Kept Triton Warm and Active for Billions of Years
Neptune’s moon Triton has two remarkable attributes: its retrograde orbit suggests that it was captured from the Kuiper Belt, and Triton has one of the youngest surfaces of all the […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
8 Things To Know About NASAās Astrobiology Mission To Ocean World Europa
The first NASA spacecraft dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth, Europa Clipper aims to find out if the ice-encased moon Europa could be habitable.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Radiation, Status Report
Energy And Temperature Dependencies For Electron-induced Sputtering From H2O-ice: Implications For The Icy Galilean Moons
To better assess the role that electrons play in exosphere production on icy-rich bodies, we measured the total and O2 sputtering yields from H2O-ice for electrons with energies between 0.75 […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Simplified Model for the Forced Libration of Icy Moons with Subsurface Oceans: Application to Enceladus and Mimas
In this work, we investigate a minimalist model capable of accurately replicating the forced librations of an icy moon with a subsurface ocean.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Water Plumes On Enceladus Caused By StrikeāSlip Motion
Over the course of its elliptical orbit, the moon Enceladus is squeezed unevenly by Saturn’s gravitational pull and deforms from a spherical shape into a football shape and back again. […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mimas, Saturn, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Evidence And Concerns About A Latent, Embryonic Phase Tectonic Evolution And The Existence Of The Young Subsurface Ocean On Mimas
New models challenge the long-standing conclusion about Mimas, an icy satellite of Saturn, being an inactive snowball, suggesting the existence of a young stealth ocean.