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The article details the groundbreaking discovery made by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s, which revealed the existence of a vast subsurface ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa. This discovery has had a profound impact on the field of space exploration, fueling decades of research and driving the development of the Europa Clipper mission, NASA's largest-ever spacecraft designed to investigate this enigmatic moon.
Galileo's magnetometer detected a peculiar magnetic field surrounding Europa, leading scientists to conclude that a massive, salty ocean lies beneath its icy shell. This ocean, potentially twice the volume of all Earth's oceans combined, has the potential to harbor life. The saltiness of the water suggests the presence of minerals essential for life and hints at the possibility of hydrothermal vents similar to those found on Earth's ocean floors, where life thrives in extreme conditions.
The article highlights the evidence supporting the existence of this hidden ocean. Galileo's images of Europa revealed a smooth, young surface with crisscrossing ridges and cracks, lacking the scars of impact craters. This suggests that Europa's icy exterior is constantly shifting and renewing itself, possibly due to the movements of the liquid ocean beneath. The Europa Clipper mission, launched on October 14, 2024, will embark on a detailed exploration of Europa, mapping its ice shell and probing the ocean below. This mission aims to answer the fundamental question: Are we truly alone in the universe? The discovery of this vast ocean on Europa has ignited the hope of finding life beyond Earth and serves as a testament to the ongoing quest for knowledge and understanding in the vast expanse of space.
Source: How Galileo's tiny discovery revealed a vast ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa