Europa

Europa Clipper Begins Odyssey to Assess Jovian Moon’s Habitability

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft today began its six-year cruise to the Jupiter system, with the goal of determining whether one…

4 weeks ago

Could Comets have Delivered the Building Blocks of Life to “Ocean Worlds” like Europa, Enceladus, and Titan too?

Throughout Earth's history, the planet's surface has been regularly impacted by comets, meteors, and the occasional large asteroid. While these…

2 months ago

Dark Oxygen Could Change Our Understanding of Habitability

The discovery of dark oxygen at an abyssal plain on the ocean floor generated a lot of interest. Could this…

2 months ago

Planetary Protection: Why study it? What can it teach us about finding life beyond Earth?

Universe Today has recently investigated a plethora of scientific disciplines, including impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets,…

5 months ago

Cryovolcanism: Why study it? What can it teach us about finding life beyond Earth?

Universe Today has had the privilege of spending the last several months venturing into a multitude of scientific disciplines, including…

5 months ago

Juno Reveals Secrets About Europa’s Icy Surface

Europa has always held a fascination to me. I think it’s the concept of a world with a sub-surface ocean…

6 months ago

If Europa has Geysers, They’re Very Faint

In 2013, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted water vapour on Jupiter's moon Europa. The vapour was evidence of plumes similar…

7 months ago

Testing a Probe that Could Drill into an Ice World

I remember reading about an audacious mission to endeavour to drill through the surface ice of Europa, drop in a…

7 months ago

A Single Grain of Ice Could Hold Evidence of Life on Europa and Enceladus

The Solar System's icy ocean moons are primary targets in our search for life. Missions to Europa and Enceladus will…

8 months ago

Europa Might Not Be Able to Support Life in its Oceans

Can Europa’s massive, interior ocean contain the building blocks of life, and even support life as we know it? This…

8 months ago