NASA scientists definitively proved the existence of water molecules in geysers on Jupiter’s moon Europa
NASA scientists used the Keck Observatory to analyse geysers on the surface of Europa - Image Credit: Vadim Kurland via flickr - HDR tune by Universal-Sci
Europa is one of the most exciting moons orbiting Jupiter as previous NASA missions revealed substantial evidence that suggests there is an ocean underneath its icy surface. Many scientists see Europa as the most likely location to find extraterrestrial life within the confines of our solar system. All of the components that are necessary for life seem to be available. The moon is, therefore, a high priority target for closer examination.
Scientists' consensus is that an ocean of liquid water exists underneath Europa's surface, and that heat from tidal flexing allows the subsurface ocean to remain liquid. One other aspect that provides substance to this consensus is the fact that Europa always faces Jupiter with the same hemisphere (tidally locked) while it spins faster on its own axis than Jupiter does. This phenomenon can be explained by the existence of a liquid ocean.
In addition to liquid water underneath the surface, researchers discovered giant plumes of, presumably, water that blast into space utilizing the Hubble Space Telescope. The initial hypothesis was that these plumes where generated by vast geysers that receive water through cracks in the surface ice. However, scientists weren't able to, up until recently, definitively confirm the presence of water in these geysers. An international team led by NASA has now been able to directly measure water molecules inside those geysers by the use of the Keck Observatory, located in Hawaii.
Water molecules send out very particular wavelengths of infrared light as they interact with radiation from the sun. Making it possible for scientists to detect them on distant moons and planets - Image Credit: Michael Lentz/NASA Goddard
One side note that has to be made is that although water vapor has now been confirmed inside these geysers, it has not yet been proven that the water is originating from the subsurface ocean. Still, this is an impressive and hopeful discovery. Lucas Paganini, a NASA planetary scientist, explains that most of the crucial components for life, like oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, are found all over the solar system, but actual liquid water is quite rare to find away from Earth making this an important finding.
In a paper published in the science journal, Nature Astronomy Paganini and his team put the amount of water that is spewing out of these geysers in perspective. The scientists detected a release of approximately 2300 kg of water per second, which is enough to fill an Olympic size swimming pool in mere minutes. Significant releases of water like that seem to occur at random, a mystery that asks for further investigation.
Sources and further reading: A measurement of water vapour amid a largely quiescent environment on Europa / NASA press release
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