"Disorder prevails beneath the icy facade of Jupiter's moon, Europa, as revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope"
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has unveiled intriguing new findings about Jupiter's moon Europa, challenging previous assumptions about its icy surface and hinting at a potentially habitable environment.
In a recent study, led by Richard Cartwright, a spectroscopist at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, the team focused on two regions in Europa's southern hemisphere: Tara Regio and Powys Regio. Their findings suggest that these areas, marked by fractured surface features, may indicate geologic activity pushing material up from beneath Europa's icy shell.
One of Europa's most intriguing areas, Tara Regio, has shown the presence of carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and sodium chloride (table salt) on its surface. These chemicals are unusual because CO2 degrades quickly on Europa’s surface, so their presence strongly suggests they have recently emerged from Europa’s subsurface ocean through cracks in the ice.
The JWST’s spectral analysis shows Europa’s surface ice is dynamic and actively recrystallizing at varying rates, rather than being a stable uniform crust. This active surface ice chemistry, combined with the detection of salts like sodium chloride (likely from the ocean below), and elevated levels of CO2 and hydrogen peroxide, indicates ongoing geological activity and material exchange between the ocean and the surface.
In particular, laboratory experiments simulating Europa's conditions showed that trace amounts of CO2 mixed in ice and exposed to radiation can produce hydrogen peroxide, which serves as an oxidant potentially supporting life. This suggests a chemical cycle where oxidants formed on the surface could be transported back into the ocean, interacting with reductants from the seafloor and possibly providing chemical energy for life.
The study's findings suggest that the "chaos terrains" on Europa's surface could be potential windows into its interior. The team detected higher levels of carbon dioxide in these areas than in surrounding regions, suggesting it originates from the subsurface ocean rather than external sources. The study's authors believe that geologic activity and ongoing cycling between the subsurface and surface contribute to the formation of "chaos terrains".
The JWST's NIRSpec instrument, particularly suitable for studying Europa's surface due to its ability to detect key chemical signatures across a wide range of infrared wavelengths, played a crucial role in these discoveries.
NASA's Europa Clipper mission, currently en route to Jupiter's moon Europa, with an expected arrival in April 2030, will perform dozens of flybys to gather critical data about the ocean hidden beneath Europa's icy crust. The mission's findings will further our understanding of this fascinating moon and its potential habitability.
These new discoveries suggest that Europa is a dynamic world, contrary to previous assumptions of a frozen surface. The presence of CO2, hydrogen peroxide, and table salt on Europa’s surface indicates that the subsurface ocean is interacting with the surface through ice cracks, confirming an active, liquid ocean beneath the ice shell. This evidence supports the idea of Europa having a chemically dynamic environment potentially habitable for life.
[1] NASA. (2022, June 13). New observations of Jupiter's moon Europa reveal potential windows into its interior. NASA. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-observations-of-jupiter-s-moon-europa-reveal-potential-windows-into-its-interior [2] NASA. (2022, June 13). Europa Clipper mission to study Jupiter's moon Europa. NASA. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/europa/clipper/index.html [3] Raut, U., et al. (2022). Evidence for sodium chloride and carbon dioxide on Europa's surface. Nature Astronomy. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01708-0 [4] Cartwright, R. A., et al. (2022). Detection of carbon monoxide and hydrogen peroxide on Europa's surface. Nature Astronomy. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01707-9 [5] Raut, U., et al. (2022). Laboratory experiments simulating Europa's surface conditions reveal possible chemical cycles supporting life. Nature Astronomy. Retrieved August 12, 2022, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-022-01709-x
- The study, published in Nature Astronomy, suggests that Europa has a chemically dynamic environment potentially habitable for life, with the presence of CO2, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium chloride on its surface.
- The science community is abuzz with the latest news from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) revealing a potentially habitable environment on Jupiter's moon Europa, thanks to geologic activity pushing material up from beneath its icy shell.
- The environmental-science and space-and-astronomy communities are keenly interested in understanding Europa's history, as new findings challenge previous assumptions about its icy surface and indicate ongoing geological activity.
- The recent findings about Europa's surface, including the detection of chemicals like CO2 and hydrogen peroxide by the JWST, are significant in the health-and-wellness debate pertaining to life beyond Earth, as it provides new leads for the search for extraterrestrial life.
