Groovy Ganymede: New Map Helps Reveal Origins of Mysterious Features on Solar System's Biggest Moon
In the search for extraterrestrial life, Jupiter's moon Ganymede, the largest in the solar system, is no Europa. The salty subsurface ocean it likely harbors is much farther below its surface than is Europa's probable liquid ocean, and it's sandwiched between layers of ice, leading most scientists to conclude that the prospects for life on--or inside-- Ganymede are dim. Little else has been known about this gigantic moon, despite the fact that it could be key to understanding the history of the Jovian system, thereby unlocking the geologic and biological secrets of its icy Galilean satellites. At 5,262 kilometers in diameter, it is larger than Mercury and dwarf planet Pluto , and would qualify as a planet itself, save for the primary exception that it orbits a planet rather than a star. A joint NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) mission to both Europa and Ganymede...