Europa’s moon — A new study published in Nature Communications questions the real possibility that Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, would have the necessary conditions to be habitable despite the fact that there is a vast underground ocean beneath its frozen surface.
Research reveals the potential for tectonic and volcanic activity on Europa’s ocean floor, processes that on Earth allow rocks and seawater to interact, producing the nutrients and chemical energy necessary for life.
In addition, life on our planet is believed to have originated billions of years ago around hydrothermal jets on the ocean floor, a dynamic and energy-rich environment. Jupiter’s moon Europa, however, may not have similar structures to support life.
“On Earth, tectonic activity, such as faulting and faulting, exposes fresh rock to the environment, where chemical reactions—primarily with water—create compounds like methane that can be used by microorganisms,” explains lead author Paul Byrne, a planetary scientist at Washington University in St. Louis.
After modeling Europa’s interior conditions, the researchers concluded that the rocky bedrock would be mechanically too strong to support life.
The ocean floor “will not contain large tectonic structures such as long ridges or deep trenches. Most likely, there will be no volcanoes, no seamounts, and no hydrothermal activity,” says co-author Christian Klimczak, a geologist at the University of Georgia.
Byrne points out that “such responses are more difficult to establish and maintain, making the European ocean floor a difficult environment for life.”
Europa, the fourth moon and one of the largest of Jupiter’s 95 known moons, has a diameter of 3,100 kilometers, making it slightly smaller than Earth’s moon.
Its ice sheet is believed to be 15 to 25 kilometers deep, and beneath it lies an ocean 60 to 150 kilometers deep.
Although its diameter is about a quarter of Earth’s, its salt water can hold twice as much water as all of Earth’s oceans combined.
Despite the new limitations, this body has three factors considered essential for life: liquid water, organic chemistry, and energy.
“The underground ocean of Europe satisfies the first requirement. We have identified organic compounds in the outer layer of ice on this moon, and it is likely that these compounds are also present in the ocean. So that’s the second requirement. And Europa’s peculiar orbit means that Jupiter creates tidal heating in Europa—the third requirement,” says Byers.
The study focuses only on current conditions on the moon Europa, but the authors do not rule out another scenario in the past. (With information from DW, Reuters, IFLScience and Nature)
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