Europa

9 Stories

Fresh Clues on Saturn Moon Boost Case for Alien Life

Cassini data reveals complex organics in the icy plumes of Enceladus

(Newser) - Scientists have uncovered new evidence that Saturn's moon Enceladus may be one of the solar system's most promising candidates for extraterrestrial life. According to a study published in Nature Astronomy cited by the New York Post , researchers from the University of Stuttgart analyzed ice grains ejected from...

NASA Launches Rocket on Trip That Will Take 6 Years

Craft will arrive at Jupiter moon Europa in 2030 to begin its work

(Newser) - NASA launched a rocket to the moon on Monday, but this particular moon will take nearly six years to reach. The spacecraft known as Europa Clipper took off for the Jupiter moon of Europa and is scheduled to arrive in 2030, reports Space.com . Once the journey is complete, the...

NASA Hasn't Been This Close to Europa Since 2000

Juno spacecraft got within 219 miles of Jupiter's icy moon

(Newser) - NASA's Juno spacecraft has made the closest approach to Jupiter’s tantalizing, icy moon Europa in more than 20 years. Juno on Thursday zipped within approximately 219 miles of Europa, thought to have an ocean flowing beneath its thick frozen crust, raising the possibility of underwater life. Scientists hailed...

Scientists Discover Surprise About Jupiter's Icy Moon
Moon of Jupiter
Reveals a Surprise
new study
Nov 9, 2020 2:32 PM CST

Moon of Jupiter Reveals a Surprise

Researchers say Europa glows in the dark

(Newser) - Scientists have just figured something out about the Jupiter moon Europa—it glows in the dark. Which, as a post at NASA points out, might not seem that weird to a layman. After all, we look up and see our own moon glowing in the night sky. But something entirely...

What the Hubble Saw Shooting Up on Jupiter Moon

Search for life on Europa could be easier than expected

(Newser) - The Hubble Space Telescope has spied what appear to be water plumes on one of Jupiter's icy moons shooting up as high as 125 miles. The geysers are apparently from an underground ocean that's thought to exist on Europa, considered one of the top places to search for...

Unidentified Life Form Found in Antarctic Lake

Isolated for millions of years, bacteria could hold clues about life beyond Earth

(Newser) - It looks like drilling through 2.3 miles of ice may have paid off: The Russian scientists who did just that last year at Antarctica's Lake Vostok say the samples they recovered contain an "unclassified and unidentified" life form, reports the BBC .The bacteria's DNA measured less...

Search Begins for Life in Antarctic Lake

Lake Ellsworth has been isolated for up to 500K years

(Newser) - What lurks in the pitch black, near-freezing waters of Lake Ellsworth? That's what British researchers, who began their trek to the lake in October 2011, hope to find out in as soon as a week. They've begun drilling through more than two miles of ice to reach the...

European Mission: Can Life Exist on Jupiter's Moons?

JUICE probe will launch in 2022

(Newser) - The first Europe-led mission to the outer solar system will explore the icy moons of Jupiter. The European Space Agency approved the JUICE—JUpiter ICy moons Explorer—mission yesterday. The project's solar-powered spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2022 and arrive in the Jovian system by 2030 to spend...

Jupiter Moon Lakes Might Support Life

Vast lakes lie just beneath Europa's icy surface: Scientists

(Newser) - The chances of life existing on Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa—and of Earthlings being able to find it—are looking a lot stronger, NASA scientists say. A vast ocean is believed to lie beneath as much as 20 miles of ice on Europa, but new research suggests that huge...

9 Stories
Most Read on Newser