This view of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa was captured by JunoCam, the general public engagement digicam aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, through the mission’s shut flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The image is a composite of JunoCam’s second, third, and fourth photographs taken through the flyby, as seen from the angle of the fourth picture. North is to the left. The photographs have a decision of simply over 0.5 to 2.5 miles per pixel (1 to 4 kilometers per pixel). NASA/SWRI
NASA-supported scientists have revealed a overview of present data concerning how ice-covered moons function in comparison with Earth. The paper focuses on the interplay between ice and the liquid ocean of a celestial physique, and the way this interaction impacts the potential habitability of icy ocean worlds.
Learning the bodily processes of oceanography on icy ocean worlds also can problem assumptions about our personal oceans right here on Earth. Some phenomena witnessed in Earth’s oceans, corresponding to tides, are considered shared between our planet and worlds like Europa. Nonetheless, some mechanisms could possibly be extra important on Europa on account of its orbit across the big planet Jupiter.
The brand new paper critiques the state of information of mechanisms in oceanography on Earth and the way these mechanisms would possibly function on different our bodies within the Photo voltaic System. This information will inform future missions to check each the bodily properties and habitability of icy ocean worlds.
The paper, “The Bodily Oceanography of Ice-Lined Moons,” was revealed within the journal Annual Assessment (open entry).
Astrobiology,
