europa
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Europa’s Icy Crust Is ‘Free-Floating’ Across the Moon’s Hidden Ocean, New Juno Images Suggest
On September 29, 2022, NASA’s Juno spacecraft made its closest flyby of Europa, coming to within 220 miles (355 kilometers) of the Jovian moon’s frozen surface. The closeup view of Europa revealed incredible details of the moon’s chaotic terrain, which suggest that its icy crust is not where it used to be. The images also…
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Scientists Can Detect Life in Single Grain of Alien Ice
Icy moons like Europa and Enceladus are exciting venues for the prospect of life beyond Earth, because they are thought to contain oceans of water beneath their frigid surfaces. Now, a team of scientists has concluded that a single grain of material spewed up by the outgassing moons could contain biosignatures—signs of life—if there are…
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Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ Moon Is Hiding an Ocean Beneath Its Mangled Surface
An odd little moon that orbits closely to Saturn just revealed its biggest mystery: a hidden ocean that lies beneath its heavily cratered surface. Mimas is less than 123 miles (198 kilometers) wide, too small to be perfectly round, and its icy shell is covered with deep scarring from objects slamming into it. Its most…
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Juno Spacecraft Gears Up for Closest Look at Jupiter’s Tormented Moon
NASA’s curious Jupiter probe is getting chummier with the planet’s most erratic moon, Io. The Juno spacecraft will carry out the closest encounter any mission has had with the volcanic moon in over 20 years, collecting valuable clues about its mysterious activity. Juno will make its flyby of Io on Saturday, December 30, coming within…