NASA Says James Webb Telescope will Study Solar System's "Ocean Worlds"

“Are they made of water ice? Is hot water vapor being released? What is the temperature of the active regions and the emitted water? Webb telescope’s measurements will allow us to address these questions with unprecedented accuracy and precision.”

"These two ocean moons are thought to provide environments that may harbor water-based life as we know it.  At this point, the issue of life elsewhere is completely unknown, though there is much speculation.  JWST can move us closer to understanding these potentially habitable environments, complementing robotic spacecraft missions that are currently in development (Europa Clipper) and may be planned for the future.   At the same time, JWST will be examining the far more distant potentially habitable environments of planets around other stars.  These two lines of exploration – local and distant – allow us to make significant advances in the search for life elsewhere."

"These two ocean moons are thought to provide environments that may harbor water-based life as we know it.  At this point, the issue of life elsewhere is completely unknown, though there is much speculation.  JWST can move us closer to understanding these potentially habitable environments, complementing robotic spacecraft missions that are currently in development (Europa Clipper) and may be planned for the future.   At the same time, JWST will be examining the far more distant potentially habitable environments of planets around other stars.  These two lines of exploration – local and distant – allow us to make significant advances in the search for life elsewhere."