case for the possibility of extraterrestrial
life on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Recent
images captured by the Hubble Telescope
show what appear to be giant water
plumes spewing about 125 miles into
space from the moon’s surface, bolstering
speculation that a vast saltwater ocean
lies beneath its frozen crust. These geysers
are also signs of geological activity—and
a possible heat or energy source—on the
distant moon. If Europa has water, energy,
and organic chemicals, the possibility of
alien life is a lot more plausible, NPR.com
reports. “On Earth, life is found wherever
there is energy, water, and nutrients,” says
NASA’s Paul Hertz. “So we have a special
interest in any place that might possess
those characteristics. And Europa might be
such a place.” If geysers occur frequently
there, scientists could use a flyby spacecraft
to collect and analyze samples of Europa’s
water with relative ease, eliminating the
need to drill through miles of ice or even
land on the moon’s surface.
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