Carbon Suggests a Favorable Environment for Life in Subsurface Ocean For as long as humans have gazed into the night sky, we have wondered about life beyond the Earth. Scientists now know that several places in our solar system might have conditions suitable for life. One of these is Jupiter’s moon
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide on Europa, Jupiter’s moon, suggesting it might have conditions suitable for life. The discovery points to exchanges between the moon’s icy surface and its subsurface ocean, emphasizing Europa’s potential in upcoming space missions. This illustration depicts a plume of water vapor that could potentially be emitted from the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Credit: NASA/ESA/K.
“On Earth, life likes chemical diversity – the more diversity, the better. We’re carbon-based life. Understanding the chemistry of Europa’s ocean will help us determine whether it’s hostile to life as we know it, or if it might be a good place for life,” said Geronimo Villanueva of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, lead author of one of two independent papers describing the findings.
Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, Gerónimo Villanueva , Samantha K Trumbo , Gerónimo Villanueva , Alyssa Pagan Webb finds that on Europa’s surface, carbon dioxide is most abundant in a region called Tara Regio – a geologically young area of generally resurfaced terrain known as “chaos terrain.” The surface ice has been disrupted, and there likely has been an exchange of material between the subsurface ocean and the icy surface.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
A source of carbon — a building block of life — is found on Jupiter's moon Europa'The discovery signals a potentially habitable environment in the ocean of Europa,' according to the Webb Space Telescope's website.
Read more »
Carbon source found on surface of Jupiter's moon EuropaAstronomers using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have identified carbon dioxide in a specific region on the icy surface of Europa.
Read more »
James Webb Space Telescope detects 1st evidence of carbon on Jupiter's icy moon EuropaThe discovery made using NASA's powerful space telescope brings scientists a step closer to determining if the salty water oceans of Europa could support life.
Read more »
The JWST Just Found Carbon on Europa, Boosting the Moon's Potential HabitabilityThe JWST found carbon dioxide on Europa's surface. It probably came from the subsurface ocean, bolstering the chance for life.
Read more »
Jupiter’s icy moon Europa’s subsurface ocean may host carbonThe Webb's remarkable sensitivity allowed it to map the distribution of CO2 on Europa's surface in great detail.
Read more »
Hidden ocean the source of carbon dioxide on Jupiter moon: ResearchCarbon dioxide detected on Jupiter's moon Europa comes from the vast ocean beneath its icy shell, research using James Webb Space Telescope data indicated on Thursday, potentially bolstering hopes the hidden water could harbor life.
Read more »