Ocean in Jupiter's moon Europa 'could be habitable'
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 - 17:10
in Astronomy & Space
A new model from NASA scientists supports the theory that the interior ocean in Jupiter's moon Europa would be able to sustain life. In addition they have calculated that this water, believed to be an ocean under the surface ice shell, could have been formed by breakdown of water-containing minerals due to either tidal forces or radioactive decay. This work, which is not yet peer-reviewed, is presented for the first time at the virtual Goldschmidt conference, and may have implications for other moons in the Solar System.