Cape Canaveral, FL – NASA’s Juno spacecraft recently made a close pass by Jupiter’s moon Europa, capturing intriguing evidence of potential water vapor plumes and briny water beneath the icy surface. The spacecraft’s JunoCam instrument snapped high-resolution images of Europa’s surface, revealing unique features like the mysterious “Platypus” formation.
The Platypus, a massive structure spanning 37 kilometers by 67 kilometers, showcases chaotic terrain suggestive of liquid water seeping to the surface, creating a dynamic and evolving landscape on Europa. This discovery hints at the presence of subsurface liquid water and ongoing surface activity, shedding light on the moon’s geology.
Moreover, Juno’s exploration uncovered double ridges near the Platypus, believed to be linked to potential cryovolcanic activity and water vapor plumes reaching as high as 200 kilometers into space. These features, reminiscent of the tiger stripes on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, provide scientists with valuable targets for further investigation during upcoming missions like Europa Clipper and JUICE.
In addition to identifying these intriguing formations, Juno revealed evidence of true polar wander on Europa, indicating shifting geographic locations of the moon’s poles due to the icy crust floating on a subsurface ocean. This phenomenon has caused noticeable fracture patterns on the moon’s surface, reshaping the landscape in Europa’s southern hemisphere.
The findings from Juno’s mission, published in reputable scientific journals, offer new insights into the complex geology and potential habitability of Europa. The spacecraft’s exploration continues to unravel mysteries about this distant moon, paving the way for future missions to probe further into Europa’s secrets and potential for life beyond Earth.