NASA's about to launch a huge spacecraft to a world harboring voluminous seas.
Planetary scientists suspect Jupiter's moon Europa contains an ocean at least twice the size of Earth's. The The Sisters' Room (2015) Watch onlineEuropa Clipper probe — which is the length of a basketball court and the largest craft the agency has sent on a planetary mission — is slated to blast to this distant realm on Oct. 10. Before the launch, NASA released a new detailed view of the moon's cracked surface, which shows why for decades researchers have been drawn to this tantalizing place.
"It's perhaps one of the best places beyond Earth to look for life in our solar system," Cynthia Phillips, a NASA planetary geologist and project staff scientist for the space agency's Europa Clipper mission, told Mashable.
On Oct. 2, NASA shared the view below, which was taken from data gathered by the Galileo mission in 1998. It shows a close-up of Europa's chaotic landscape, which is evidence that something below the moon's thick icy crust — like an ocean — is stoking lots of change and deformity. Salty water may escape to the surface along fractures, leaving telltale reddish colors on Europa's ground. And irregular chunks of ice have likely been created by relatively recent surface movement.
"This region sports ice rafts that look like those at Earth's poles, where large chunks of ice break away and float freely on the ocean," the agency wrote. "Much of the region bears the reddish/brownish discoloration seen here — the same as seen along many of Europa's fractures. Scientists believe this material may contain clues about the composition of an ocean beneath the icy surface, if it is proven to exist."
To prove whether an ocean exists and if it could host suitable conditions for life, Europa Clipper will make around 50 close flybys of the moon's surface. It's fitted with a number of high-resolution cameras, a ground-penetrating radar, and even a device (called SUDA) that will literally sample particles of Europa that have been ejected into space by tiny meteorites.
After looping through the solar system on a 1.8-billion-mile (2.9-billion-kilometer) journey, the craft will arrive at Europa in 2030, and spend 3.5 years collecting unprecedented data. To determine if the Jupiter moon is habitable, mission scientists need to answer some major questions. For example, all life needs energy: Does this ocean world provide an energy source? And does it harbor the basic chemical ingredients, like carbon, to form the building blocks of life as we know it?
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
And, if all those conditions are satisfied, is there evidence the ocean has been around for billions of years, providing a stable environment for life to evolve and sustain itself in Europa's dark sea?
We'll find out.
Topics NASA
Churros shop lures Pokémon trainers with the 'Pikachurro'Facebook's latest big hack was apparently by spammers, not foreign agentsSomeone stole a van full of Krispy Kreme doughnutsIn all seriousness though, would you wear these nose warmers?Maisie Williams was alone in her final 'Game of Thrones' sceneYouTube now lets you subscribe to a channel from an embedded videoPut Thanos' face on a pumpkin and you'll get a pretty glorious Photoshop battle5 ways you can stand up for domestic violence survivorsApple slams Australian bank 'cartel' in Apple Pay fightBlack Lives Matter: The timeline of a movementInside the 'war room' where Facebook is trying to safeguard electionsNew mom Anne Hathaway reminds us all there's no shame in gaining weightTom Hiddleston debuts his Instagram account with a Loki selfieBlack Lives Matter: The timeline of a movementAnyone can take a ride in these selfBlack Lives Matter: The timeline of a movementTwitter shuts down spambots spreading proWild parenting advice from the first man to win a paternity leave suitWhat you should do if a DNA test suggests you’re Native AmericanOne 'Daredevil' Season 3 scene has viewers going nuts The eviction of a refugee camp is being live streamed on Facebook 'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' turns the whole Muggle world into Potterverse Elon Musk slams SEC 'overreach,' says he cut his Tesla Beto O'Rourke gets a hero's welcome at SXSW: Documentary review Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron can't save awkward rom Carmen Sandiego brings classic PC gaming to Google Earth The CDC has advice for e Vivo Apex 2019: No holes, all screen Is Airbnb the reason renters can't find an affordable place to live in Sydney? CCTV captures man narrowly escaping building collapse No one's more upset about the 'Walking Dead' premiere than this sobbing fan Surfer Lives Matter hashtag appears in Australian town after shark attacks Ian McShane and Orlando Jones can't save 'American Gods' from itself. 'Game of Thrones' SXSW activation invites fans to bleed for the throne 'Fantastic Four' director expertly roasts himself on Twitter Elizabeth Warren had quite the response to Trump's 'nasty woman' comment Donald Trump made money off his name – but that could be ending What 'Captain Marvel' could mean for 'Avengers: Endgame' How to tell if your flight is on a Boeing 737 Max 8 before you book it Sandra Oh is going to host 'Saturday Night Live' with Tame Impala
1.6334s , 10134.3125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【The Sisters' Room (2015) Watch online】,Unobstructed Information Network