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Jupiter’s moons hide giant subterranean oceans − Europa Clipper is one of two missions underway to see if these moons could support life

Pabio November 5, 2024

This article was originally published on The conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com Expert voices: opinion pieces and perspectives.

Mike Sori is an assistant professor of planetary sciences at Purdue University.

On October 14, 2024, NASA launched a robotic spacecraft named Europa Clipper toward the moons of Jupiter. Clipper will reach the ice-covered Jovian moon Europe in 2030 and spend several years collecting and sending valuable data on the potential habitability of the Moon to Earth.

Clipper is not the only mission to highlight researchers’ interest in Jupiter and its moons.

On April 13, 2023, the European Space Agency launched a rocket carrying a spacecraft to Jupiter. THE Explorer of Jupiter’s icy moons – Or JUICE – will spend at least three years on Jupiter’s moons after arriving in 2031.

I am a planetary scientist who studies the structure and evolution of solid planets and moons in the solar system.

There are many reasons why my colleagues and I look forward to obtaining the data that Europe Clipper and JUICE will hopefully return to Earth in the 2030s. But perhaps the most interesting information will be about water. Three of Jupiter’s moons – Europa, Ganymede And Callisto – are home to vast underground oceans of liquid water that could support life.

Four of Jupiter's moons—from left to right and top to bottom: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—are shown according to their relative sizes.

Four of Jupiter’s moons—from left to right and top to bottom: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto—are shown according to their relative sizes. (Image credit: JPL/NASA)

Meet Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto

Jupiter has dozens of moons. Four of them are of particular interest to planetary scientists.

Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are, like Earth’s Moon, relatively large complex and spherical worlds. Two precedents NASA missions have sent spacecraft into orbit around the Jupiter system and collected data on these moons. THE Galileo Mission orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003 and led to geological discoveries on the four major moons. THE Mission Juno is still orbiting Jupiter today and has provided scientists with an unprecedented view of Jupiter’s composition, structure, and structure. space environment.

These missions and other observations revealed that Iothe closest of the four to its host planet, is buzz geological activityincluding lava lakes, volcanic eruptions and tectonically formed mountains. But it does not contain large quantities of water.

Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, on the other hand, have icy landscapes. The surface of Europa is a frozen wonderland with a young but complex history, possibly including frozen analogues of plate tectonics and volcanoes. Ganymede, the largest moon of all solar systemis bigger than Mercury and has his own magnetic field generated internally from a liquid metal core. Callisto appears somewhat inert compared to the others, but serves as a valuable time capsule of an ancient past that is no longer accessible on the young surfaces of Europa and Io.

Most exciting of all: Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto all almost certainly possess underground oceans of liquid water.

Illustration of Europa with an iron core surrounded by a rocky mantle that would be in direct contact with a vast internal ocean with a volcanic seafloor.

Heat from Europa’s interior and Jupiter’s tidal energy likely maintain a huge liquid ocean beneath the Moon’s icy surface. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Michael Carroll)

Ocean worlds

Europa, Ganymede and Callisto have cold surfaces which are hundreds of degrees below zero. At these temperatures, ice behaves like solid rock.

But just like the Earththe further you go underground on these moons, the hotter it gets. Go down far enough and you eventually reach the temperature where ice melts into water. The exact distance at which this transition occurs on each of the moons is a question subject of debate which scientists hope to solve with JUICE and Europa Clipper. Although the exact depths are still uncertain, scientists are convinced that these oceans exist.

The best evidence for the presence of these oceans comes from Jupiter’s magnetic field. Salt water conducts electricity. So, when these moons cross Jupiter’s magnetic field, they generate a smaller secondary magnetic field this alerts researchers to the presence of an underground ocean. Thanks to this technique, planetologists were able to show that the three moons contain underground oceans. And these oceans are not small: the ocean of Europe alone could contain more than double the water of all the oceans on Earth combined.

An obvious and exciting next question is whether these oceans can support extraterrestrial life. Liquid water is an important part of what makes a world habitable, but it is far from the only requirement for life. Life also needs energy and certain chemical compounds in addition to water to flourish. Because these oceans are hidden under miles of solid ice, sunlight and photosynthesis are absent. But it is possible that other sources provide the necessary ingredients.

On Europa, for example, the ocean of liquid water superimposes a rocky interior. This rocky seafloor could provide energy and chemicals via underwater volcanoes that could make Europa’s ocean habitable. But it is also possible that the European ocean is a barren and inhospitable place: scientists need more data to answer these questions.

Artist's rendering of the JUICE spacecraft traveling through the Jupiter system.

The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft will travel for eight years before reaching Jupiter. (Image credit: ESA)

Upcoming ESA and NASA missions

Europa Clipper and JUICE aim to provide scientists with groundbreaking information about the potential habitability of Jupiter’s moons. While both missions will collect data across multiple moons, JUICE will spend time orbiting and focusing on Ganymede, and Europa Clipper will perform dozens of close flybys of Europa.

Both spacecraft will carry a suite of scientific instruments specifically designed to study the oceans. The onboard radar will enable Europa Clipper and JUICE probe the moons outer layers of solid ice. Radar could reveal small pockets of liquid water in the ice or, in the case of Europa, which has a thinner outer ice layer than Ganymede and Callisto, I hope to detect the largest ocean.

Magnetometers will also be on the two missions. These tools will give scientists the opportunity to study in detail the secondary magnetic fields produced by the interaction of conductive oceans with Jupiter’s field and will hopefully give researchers clues about ocean salinity and volumes.

Scientists will also observe small variations in the moons’ gravitational pull by tracking subtle movements in the orbits of the two spacecraft, which could help determine whether Europa’s seafloor is home to volcanoes that provide the necessary energy and chemistry so that the ocean supports life.

Finally, the two machines will carry a multitude of cameras and light sensors which will provide unprecedented images of the geology and composition of the icy surfaces of the moons.

Perhaps one day a spacecraft will be able to break through miles of solid ice on Europa, Ganymede or Callisto and directly explore the oceans. In the meantime, observations from spacecraft like Europa Clipper and JUICE provide the best way for scientists to learn more about these ocean worlds.

When Galileo Discovered these moons in 1609, they were the first objects known to directly orbit another planet. Their discovery was the final nail in the coffin of the theory that Earth – and humanity – resides at the center of humanity. the universe. Perhaps these worlds have another humiliating surprise in store for us.

Le-verdict

Le-verdict

Jupiter’s moons hide giant subterranean oceans − Europa Clipper is one of two missions underway to see if these moons could support life

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Jupiter’s moons hide giant subterranean oceans − Europa Clipper is one of two missions underway to see if these moons could support life

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