Hidden ocean could explain CO2 on Jupiter’s moon – 09/21/2023 – Science

The carbon dioxide detected on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, comes from a vast ocean hidden beneath the planet’s ice sheet, according to two studies released this Thursday (21).

With data obtained by the James Webb telescope, both analyzes reinforce hopes that this enormous volume of hidden water may harbor some type of life.

Scientists are certain that beneath kilometers of ice there could be a vast saltwater ocean on Europa, making this moon the prime candidate for harboring extraterrestrial life in the Solar System.

However, it is not yet possible to determine whether this hidden sea has chemical elements to sustain life forms.

The CO_twoconsidered one of the main components of life, had previously been detected on the surface of this natural satellite, but its origin was unknown.

Two teams of researchers from the United States used data from JWST’s infrared spectrum to draw a map of carbon dioxide on Europa’s surface. They published the results in two separate studies in the journal Science.

The largest amount of CO_two was found on a surface 1,800 kilometers long, called Tara Regio. This is a region of “chaotic terrain”, where the frozen surface is greatly altered.

It is not yet known for sure what phenomenon is behind the irregular terrain, but the theory is that warm ocean water emerges and melts the ice on the surface, which soon freezes again.

The first study used data from the Webb telescope to determine whether CO_two it may have reached the surface in another way, such as the impact of a meteorite, for example.

Samantha Trumbo, an astronomer at Cornell University and lead author of the study, told AFP that experts concluded that the carbon dioxide “ultimately came from the interior, probably from the internal ocean.”

The researchers do not rule out that this origin lies in the carbon-rich minerals – similar to rocks – inside the satellite, which were later decomposed by irradiation on the surface, to transform into CO_two.

Salt and microbes

Salt was also detected in the Tara Regio region, which explains the more yellowish tone of the terrain, compared to other flat, white and well-marked surfaces in Europe.

Researchers say they believe this mineral may also have originated from the ocean.

“Since we have salt and CO_twowe are beginning to understand what this internal chemistry might be like,” said Trumbo.

Using the same telescope data, the second study also confirmed that “carbon comes from the interior of Europa.”

Furthermore, NASA scientists expected to find columns of water or volatile gases on the satellite’s surface, but so far they have not made these discoveries.

Two major space missions now plan to get closer to Europa and its mysterious ocean.

The European Space Agency’s Juice probe was launched in April, while NASA’s Europa Clipper mission is scheduled for October 2024.

A scientist from the Juice project, Olivier Witasse, celebrated the two new studies, considering both to be very interesting.

Juice will pass close to Europa twice in 2032 and will be able to collect “a lot of new information”, including about the surface chemistry, he explained to AFP.

The probe will also observe two other moons of Jupiter, Ganymede and Callisto, where carbon has previously been detected.

Witasse reinforced that the objective of the two missions is to discover whether these moons have suitable conditions to support life. However, the probes are not capable of doing so fully.

If any future mission detects life outside planet Earth, it would likely manifest itself in the form of microbes, trapped under more than 10 kilometers of ice.