Scientists have discovered carbon, an important component of life, on Jupiter’s moon Europa. Another important step in finding an alternative homeland for the inhabitants of the Earth.
moon “Europe” (Europe) Jupiter is one of the few regions in our solar system that may have suitable conditions for life. Previous research has shown that beneath Europe’s icy crust lies a salty ocean of liquid water and a rocky sea floor.
However, in the past scientists were unable to confirm this. Does Europa’s ocean contain the chemistry necessary for life? Especially the carbon group
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Recently, astronomers using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) detected carbon dioxide on Europa’s icy surface.
The analysis indicates that this carbon likely originates from the subsurface ocean. It did not come from a fallen meteorite or any other external source. Would Europa be a suitable place to live?
“The discovery of carbon dioxide in salt-rich areas of Europa’s icy crust suggests that the carbon dioxide comes from the ocean below and not from external sources such as meteorites and ions,” said Kevin Hand, a bioastronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and one of the discovery teams. Europe struck.
“On our planet, life loves chemical diversity,” said Jeronimo Villanueva of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The more variety the better. We are a carbon-based life. Understanding the chemistry of Europe’s oceans will help us determine how to do this. Are oceans dangerous to living organisms? Or it might be a good place to live.
Samantha Trumbo, Cornell University Another member of the research team added: “We now believe we have observational evidence that the carbon we see on the surface of Europa comes from the ocean. This is no small issue. Because carbon is an essential biological element.
Dr. Christopher Glenn, a geochemist at the Southwest Research Institute in Texas, said: “We still don’t know if life exists in Europa’s oceans. But this new discovery adds to the evidence that Europa’s oceans may be a good solution to sustaining life.” The environment looks attractive from an astrobiological perspective.
Data from James Webb found that on the surface of Europe carbon dioxide is highest in the Tara Reggio region, a geologically young region. The ice on the surface is disturbed. There is likely a physical exchange between the subsurface ocean and the ice surface.
“Previous observations from the Hubble Space Telescope have shown evidence of ocean-derived salt at Taragio,” Trumbo explains. “And now we find that carbon dioxide is also highly concentrated. We think this means the origin of the carbon may be in the subsurface ocean.”
“Scientists are debating whether how connected Europa’s ocean is to its surface,” Villanueva said. “I think this question was the main motivation for exploring Europa… This shows that we may be able to learn some basics about the composition of the ocean before we drill through the ice to get a complete picture.”
Europa’s moon is slightly smaller than Earth’s moon. Its surface temperature never exceeds -140 degrees Celsius, and radiation from Jupiter But Europa’s ocean, 64 to 160 kilometers deep and 16 to 24 kilometers below the ice surface, makes Europa habitable. But it depends on its chemical properties. Including the abundance of essential biological elements such as carbon.
Astronomers often refer to the six elements, or “Big Six,” found in life on Earth: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and sulfur have now been discovered on Europa. Although it is not yet clear whether the sulfur present comes from its oceans or from Jupiter’s other moons, such as Io.
NASA plans to send the Europa Clipper spacecraft to Europe in October 2024, where it will conduct dozens of flybys of Europa. To further check whether there are suitable conditions for the organisms or not.
“Future observations by James Webb and the Europa Clipper mission should give us more clues about whether other important elements for life, such as nitrogen, are also present on Europa,” Glenn said.
AFP-NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute photo
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