Europa’s Venting Global Ocean May Be Easier To Reach Than We Thought

universe today ^ | 09/26/2016

[BenLurkin]

Earlier today (September 26th) NASA put an end to the waiting and announced the Hubble findings during a NASA Live conference. According to the NASA panel, which was made up of members of the research team, this latest Europa-observing mission revealed evidence of plumes of saline water emanating from Europa’s surface...

...

These findings are immensely significant for two reasons. On the one hand, they are further evidence that a warm-water, saline ocean exists beneath Europa’s icy surface. On the other, they indicate that any future mission to Europa would be able to access this salt-water ocean with greater ease.

Ever since the Galileo spacecraft conducted a flyby of the Jovian moon, scientists have believed that an interior ocean is lying beneath Europa’s icy surface – one that has between two and three times as much water as all of Earth’s oceans combined. However, estimates of the ice’s thickness range from it being between 10 to 30 km (6–19 mi) thick – with a ductile “warm ice” layer that increases its total thickness to as much as 100 km (60 mi).

Knowing the water periodically reaches the surface through fissures in the ice would mean that any future mission (which would likely include a submarine) would not have to drill so deep. And considering that Europa’s interior ocean is considered to be one of our best bets for finding extra-terrestrial life, knowing that the ocean is accessible is certainly exciting news. Naturally, Sparks was clear that this latest information was not entirely conclusive. While he believes that the results were statistically significant, and that there were no indications of artifacts in the data, he also emphasized that observations conducted in the UV wavelength are tricky. Therefore, more evidence is needed before anything can be said definitively.

[BenLurkin]

ping

[cicero2k]

It also means evidence of life may be at the surface, in the form of organisms trapped.

A single cell organism would be a huge discovery, and now that there is a path from liquid to the surface, is significant. There is energy inside: either via tidal friction, nuclear decay or insulated molten core.

Just land where it “snows”, melt and examine.

[HenpeckedCon]

I wonder what the water pressure would be under miles of ice?

[Larry Lucido]

I would attempt no landing there.

[butlerweave]

It’s a Lemon

[ThomasMore]

To go along with today’s APOD ping...

[Red Badger]

Attempt no landing there................

[GingisK]

saline water emanating from Europa’s surface...any future mission to Europa would be able to access this salt-water ocean with greater ease.

You mean, like just standing there and having it splash all over them?

[wastoute]

Funny reference but in all series ness the most valuable thing out there is water and Europa is a jackpot.

[ETL]

A single cell organism would be a huge discovery...

Who knows, they may even find dinosaurs beneath the ice.

_________________________________

"Negotiating an underwater tunnel [beneath the ice] to gain the island's interior, those aboard U-33 are amazed to discover a tropical prehistoric world kept warm by volcanic forces.

Here dinosaurs that should be long extinct live and roam, as do a curious race of humanoid savages that appear to exhibit all the various phases of Man's evolutionary development. To survive long enough to repair and replenish the U-boat, wartime enemies must put aside their differences and cooperate with one another. But not everyone is playing from the Kumbaya songbook...

http://www.eccentric-cinema.com/cult_movies/land_time_forgot.htm

_____________________________________________

[tet68]

more evidence is needed before anything can be said definitively.

Well, I guess it’s settled science then. /s

[ETL]

That’s only true when it comes to GoreBull Warming.