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  1. Content with the tag: “europa

  2. Great Lake on Europa


    Europa's "Great Lake." Researchers predict many more such lakes are scattered throughout the moon's icy shell. Credit: Britney Schmidt/Dead Pixel VFX/Univ. of Texas at Austin.

    In a potentially significant finding in the search for life beyond Earth, scientists studying data from NASA’s Galileo probe have discovered what appears to be a body of liquid water the volume of the North American Great Lakes locked inside the icy shell of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The water could represent a potential habitat for life, and many more such lakes might exist throughout the shallow regions of Europa’s shell, say researchers writing in the journal Nature. NASA’s press conference can be viewed here.

    Source: [NASA Science News]

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  3. Where in the World is Europa?


    Side-by-side images of the Moon Europa.
    Before they can be sent out to explore planets or moons, rovers first need to be tested in the field. While there is no perfect analog for Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, there are various spots on Earth and elsewhere that are similar enough to conduct trial runs.

    With new attention directed toward a future mission to the Jupiter system, locations such as Antarctica’s Lake Vostok and Borup Fiord Pass in the Canadian High Arctic could help NASA scientists prepare robots and instruments for the harsh environment of Europa.

    Source: [astrobio.net]

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  4. Diving Robot Discovers Life in the Slow Lane


    DEPTHX
    Scientists have found amazingly diverse microbial life in the world’s deepest water-filled sinkhole, even down where sunlight can’t reach. The discovery adds new insight into life’s ability to thrive in Earth’s most extreme environments. This research also could aid the search for life elsewhere in our solar system, such as on Jupiter’s moon Europa.

    The autonomous, deep-diving robot, DEPTHX, dove 275 meters into the Zacatón sinkhole in northeastern Mexico. Over almost 50 dives, the craft retrieved samples of water and microbes. DEPTHX is supported through the ASTEP (Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets) program.

    Source: [astrobio.net]

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  5. Hunting for Fossils on Europa


    Side-by-side images of the Moon Europa.

    Jupiter’s moon Europa has a salty ocean where life could exist, but in order to explore it, we need to drill through the moon’s thick ice shell. However, some scientists believe that the remains of marine life on Europa could be accessible on the surface for a lander to find. The icy surface of Europa is covered in cracks and fissures, and it might be possible that organisms are dragged to the surface as these features form. Experiments performed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs even suggest that orbiters could investigate the infrared signature of Europa’s icy crust...

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    Source: [astrobio.net]

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  6. Europa’s Churn Leads to Oxygen Burn


    Jupiter’s moon Europa has a salty ocean, and scientists have long wondered if life could be found there. One researcher says Europa may have enough oxygen to support an ocean teeming with life. A new study suggests that an oxygen-rich layer on Europa’s crust – formed when radiation from Jupiter reacts with water ice – could be far thicker than previously thought. The key is whether or not this oxygen is delivered into the subsurface ocean.

    Source: [astrobio.net]

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  7. Dual Drill Designed for Ice


    Side-by-side images of the Moon Europa.
    Jupiter’s moon Europa is thought to harbor a liquid ocean beneath its icy crust, and many scientists believe that life could inhabit this watery environment. In February, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that they will be collaborating on a new mission to Jupiter and its four largest moons.

    The Europa Jupiter System Mission (EJSM) is currently planned to include orbiting spacecraft that will analyze Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto from a distance. However, researchers around the world are also examining the potential for instruments that could operate at, or even...

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    Source: [astrobio.net]

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  8. Europa on Earth


    Side-by-side images of the Moon Europa.
    Rare sulfur springs high in the Arctic could provide astrobiologists with important clues about the potential for life on Europa. With support from the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), a team of scientists performed an expedition to the unique site on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. Their results are now being published in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment.

    Source: [astrobio.net]

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  9. Diving Through A Microbial Landscape


    DaleAndersenScientist Dale Andersen prepares to dive in Lake Untersee in Queen Maud Land in Antarctica. Photo: Dale Andersen
    The ice-covered lakes of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys have long been of interest to astrobiologists. These remote and extreme environments harbor unique microbial ecosystems that could provide clues about how life might survive on other worlds – such as Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Recently, a team of scientists funded by the NASA Exobiology Program began exploring the unique habitat of the ice-crusted Lake Joyce.

    Lake Joyce is of special interest, because it’s waters harbor carbonate structures known as microbialites. These unique structures are formed with layers of cyanobacteria. The research team is interested in how these organisms...

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    Source: [OnOrbit]

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  10. Ice in the Solar System...in Your Classroom


    The cover image of the classroom lesson booklet, Exploring Ice in the Solar System, developed by the NAI Carnegie Institution of Washington Team and the NASA MESSENGER mission.

    Exploring Ice in the Solar System is a series of lessons for K-5 classrooms developed by the NAI Carnegie Institution of Washington Team and the NASA MESSENGER mission. Twelve lessons span topics from ice in everyday life, to exploring ice in the polar regions of Earth, to icy places on Mars and Europa, to life in ice. Each standards-aligned lesson consists of substantive background information, inquiry-based activities, teaching tips, resources, a photo gallery, and strategies for differentiated instruction and evaluation.

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  11. Alien Safari Part 6: Generations


    At the most recent NASA Astrobiology Science Conference, a panel of scientists discussed different types of planets where we might find alien life. In part six of this series, the panelists answer audience questions about the origin and evolution of life elsewhere.

    Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

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  12. Hiding from Jupiter's Radiation


    Side-by-side images of the Moon Europa.
    Researchers as part of NASA’s Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology program are mapping the surfaces of Jupiter’s moons Europa and Ganymede. One goal is to identify ‘dead zones’ where the powerful radiation of Jupiter would likely destroy any interesting organic compounds. The team also hopes to find areas that are possible ‘safe havens’ – where materials expelled from the moons’ subsurface oceans might survive. Such areas could be extremely important sites for future missions to the Jovian system.

    Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

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  13. Unmasking Europa




    We may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but hopefully we can judge a moon by its surface. Jupiter’s moon Europa is a primary target of astrobiology in our solar system because some scientists think it may harbor a habitable ocean beneath it’s icy crust. Richard Greenberg, professor in the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona and former member of the imaging team of NASA’s Galileo spacecraft, has now released a book about the scratched and splotchy surface of Europa.

    Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

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  14. Exploring Europa on Earth



    A liquid ocean may lie hidden beneath the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Astrobiologists theorize that hydrothermal vents at the bottom of this ocean could provide all of the ingredients needed to support life – much like the hydrothermal vents at the bottom of Earth’s oceans. Exploring such habitats on Europa won’t be as easy as it is on our own planet, which is why NASA-funded engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution plan to practice on Earth first.

    Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

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  15. Wandering Poles on Europa


    Europa

    A new study in the May 15th issue of Nature from NAI’s Carnegie Institution of Washington Team reveals that Europa’s poles may not have always been located in the same place. Using images from three NASA spacecraft, Voyager, Galileo, and New Horizons, the study mapped surface features on Europa and matched them with a pattern predicted if Europa had experienced an episode of ~80 degree true polar wander. This movement of the pole and subsequent change in rotation axis is only possible if Europa’s outer shell is decoupled...

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  16. Salinity of Europa's Ocean


    New research from NAI’s SETI Institute Team published online in Icarus today outlines the empirical range of salt concentrations permitted for Europa’s ocean. Solutions within the range imply high, near-saturation salt concentrations and require a Europan ice shell of less than 15 km thick, with a best fit at 4 km ice thickness. The paper examines the implications for subsurface habitability.

    Source: [Link]

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