Icy Moon Archives

An artist’s rendition of Saturn’s moon Enceladus depicts hydrothermal activity on the seafloor and cracks in the moon’s icy crust that allow material from the watery interior to be ejected into space. New research shows that instruments destined for the next missions could find traces of a single cell in a single ice grain contained in a plume. NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Signs Of Life Are Detectable In A Single Ice Grain Emitted From Icy Moons

by Keith CowingMarch 23, 2024March 23, 2024

The ice-encrusted oceans of some of the moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter are leading candidates in the search for extraterrestrial life. A new lab-based study led by the University of […]

Astrogeology, Callisto, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report

Large Impact Features on Ganymede and Callisto as Revealed by Geological Mapping and Morphometry

by Keith CowingMarch 22, 2024March 22, 2024

We have performed topographic and geological mapping of 19 large impact features on Ganymede and Callisto in order to gather morphometric and crater age data that allow us to quantify […]

This newly reprocessed image, along with two others along the same longitude (see PIA23872 and PIA23873), were taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on Sept. 26, 1998, and reveal details of diverse surface features on Europa. Larger image

Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release

Icy Impacts: Gauging The Thickness Of Ice On Europa

by Keith CowingMarch 21, 2024

Sometimes planetary physics is like being in a snowball fight. Most people, if handed an already-formed snowball, can use their experience and the feel of the ball to guess what […]

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Triton, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Constraints On Triton’s Atmosphere From The 6 October 2022 Stellar Occultation

by Keith CowingMarch 15, 2024March 15, 2024

The atmosphere of Triton was probed directly by observing a ground-based stellar occultation on 6 October 2022. This rare event yielded 23 positive light curves collected from 13 separate observation […]

Heliocentric trajectory associated with the light sail, in conjunction with the relevant heliocentric parameters shown for the setup described in Section 2. -- astro-ph.EP

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Light Sail Astrobiology Precursor Mission To Enceladus And Europa

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2024March 3, 2024

Icy moons with subsurface oceans of liquid water rank among the most promising astrobiological targets in our Solar System.

Maps of the ring’s flux and brightness temperature as functions of ring radius and wavelength derived from the MIRI observations. The radial extent of the three main rings are shown at the far right of each plot (the Cassini Division is situated between the A and B rings). Note that the brightness temperature is more useful on the right-hand side of the figure, where thermal emission dominates over reflected sunlight. The brightness temperature rapidly increases at short wavelengths because of the increasing contribution of reflected sunlight. Narrow spectral features in the regions indicated by the shaded bands around 8 µm, 12 µm and 14µm are due to stray light from Saturn, but the bright line at 9.2 µm is due to the presence of highly crystalline water ice throughout the ring. -- astro-ph.EP

Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Saturn

Water-Ice Dominated Spectra of Saturn’s Rings and Small Moons from JWST

by Keith CowingFebruary 27, 2024February 27, 2024

JWST measured the infrared spectra of Saturn’s rings and several of its small moons (Epimetheus, Pandora, Telesto and Pallene) as part of Guaranteed Time Observation program 1247.

This poster shows a flattened (Mercator) projection of the Huygens probe's view of Saturn's moon Titan from 10 kilometres altitude. The images that make up this view were taken on Jan. 14, 2005, with the descent imager/spectral radiometer onboard the European Space Agency's Huygens probe. The Huygens probe was delivered to Titan by the Cassini spacecraft, managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. (ESA/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona photo)

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Titan

Titan Is Most Likely Not Habitable

by Keith CowingFebruary 15, 2024February 15, 2024

A study led by Western astrobiologist Catherine Neish shows the subsurface ocean of Titan – the largest moon of Saturn – is most likely a non-habitable environment, meaning any hope […]

Mimas - NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Press Release, Saturn, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Mimas Has A Young Ocean Beneath Its Icy Shell

by Keith CowingFebruary 7, 2024February 8, 2024

Hidden beneath the heavily cratered surface of Mimas, one of Saturn’s smallest moons, lies a secret: a global ocean of liquid water.

An artist’s impression of Uranus and its five largest moons

Ariel, Icy Worlds, Miranda, Press Release, Uranus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Two Of Uranus’ Moons May Harbor Active Oceans, Radiation Data Suggests News Releases

by Keith CowingMarch 16, 2023December 18, 2023

Uranus — the turquoise, tilted oddball of the solar system — may have just joined ranks with Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune as host to at least one icy moon that’s […]

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Press Release

A Newly Discovered Form Of Salty Ice Could Exist On The Surface Of Icy Moons

by Keith CowingFebruary 20, 2023February 20, 2023

The red streaks crisscrossing the surface of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, are striking. Scientists suspect it is a frozen mixture of water and salts, but its chemical signature is […]