An international group of astronomers from the United States, Germany, Switzerland and other countries has concluded that Saturn’s icy moon Europa is likely uninhabitable, despite the presence of large amounts of water. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature Astronomy (NatAstro).
Europa has long been considered one of the most promising worlds to search for life in the solar system. Beneath its icy surface lies an ocean containing twice as much water as all the oceans on Earth. Observations also revealed a thin but oxygen-rich atmosphere.
But new calculations showed that the lunar surface produces relatively little oxygen (about 12 kilograms of gas per second). At the same time, Europe is constantly losing oxygen due to absorption and ionization of the atmosphere.
Some of the oxygen captured at the surface can travel to the subsurface ocean to fuel life there. But the study estimates Europe’s total oxygen loss could range from 300 grams to 300 kilograms of gas per second.
Scientists acknowledge that this indicator may not reflect the actual amount of oxygen on Europa. Experts hope to obtain more data about the icy world and its habitability with the help of the Europa Clipper mission, which will be launched in the fall of 2024. The probe will reach the Jupiter system in 2030.
Previously at NASA showed A sign with the message to be sent to Europe with the Europa Clipper.