Great Ocean on Europa Stirs Debate for Extraterrestrial Life

IMAGE: NASA/WIKIPEDIA

Jupiter's sixth Moon, Europa, is the smallest satellite of our solar system's biggest planet, the great gas giant Jupiter.  Despite the relatively small size of Europa to Jupiter's other moons, Europa is still quite large compared to most bodies in our solar system.  Europa is just a little bit smaller than out own moon.

Close-up images from recent space missions to Europa show that there is a considerable amount of geologic activity on this moon. The crust of Europa undergoes a considerable amount of stretching and flexing due to the strong tidal forces provided by the gravitation pull of Jupiter. Because of the activity, scientist speculate that Europa is able to maintain a fairly warm temperature, despite its distance from the Sun.

The Galileo spacecraft was sent to Jupiter back in 1989, and scientists are still sifting through the copious amounts of information sent back from the probe.  One important discovery from the Galileo mission as far as Europa was concerned was that deep oceans exist on Europa just below its icy surface.

There is a possibility that extraterrestrial life may exist deep with the oceans of Europa, possibly residing in conditions that resemble our own Earth's deep oceans.

Deep in the Earth's oceans microbial life takes up residence in and around hydrothermal vents that provide energy sources for biologic activity. Since similar conditions may prevail deep within the cool seas of Europa, this moon of Jupiter has been placed on the a short list of location where extraterrestrial life may exist within our own solar system.