Pasadena, California – NASA’s Juno spacecraft recently completed its closest flyby of Jupiter’s moon, Europa, reaching within 220 miles of the moon’s icy surface. The images captured during this encounter provided detailed insights into the moon’s rugged terrain, revealing significant changes in its icy crust. One notable feature discovered during the flyby was a peculiarly-shaped formation dubbed “Platypus.”
The findings from the JunoCam images were published in the Planetary Science Journal, while the high-resolution images captured by Juno’s Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) were detailed in the journal JGR Planets. Scientists believe that Europa houses a massive salty ocean beneath its icy exterior, potentially holding more water than Earth’s combined oceans. The moon’s distinctive landscape, characterized by intricate ridges and dark stains, hints at the presence of water vapor plumes venting into space.
Images from Juno’s SRU showcased a region on Europa’s surface marked by fine grooves, double ridges, and high-energy particles, a result of the harsh radiation environment surrounding the moon. The presence of dark stains further suggests possible cryovolcanic plume activity, indicating liquid bubbling up from beneath the icy shell.
Detailed observations of Europa’s surface revealed the “Platypus” feature, measuring 42 miles at its widest and displaying prominent ridges and reddish-brown material. Surrounding ridge formations collapsing into the main feature support the theory of a dynamically shifting icy shell, potentially indicating subsurface liquid water. These observations hint at ongoing surface activity on Europa.
Further analysis by scientists revealed intricate fracture patterns, ridges, and bands on Europa’s surface, erasing terrain older than 90 million years. The “true polar wander” theory suggests that Europa’s icy shell is in constant motion, leading to observable surface features. Juno’s visible light camera, JunoCam, provided crucial data for mapping such fracture patterns, indicating significant geological activity on the moon.
The study of Europa’s unique features is part of NASA’s larger mission to explore Jupiter and its moons. With increasing interest in the potential for life on Europa, upcoming missions like the Europa Clipper by NASA and the JUICE mission by the European Space Agency aim to delve deeper into the mysteries of this icy moon. These missions will focus on studying Europa’s magnetic field and exploring the gas giant and its ocean-bearing moons in the coming years.