This view of Jupiters icy moon Europa was caught by the JunoCam imager aboard NASAs Juno spacecraft throughout the missions close flyby on September 29, 2022. The firms Europa Clipper spacecraft will check out the moon when it reaches orbit around Jupiter in 2030. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ MSSS, Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0 The ice-covered Jovian moon generates 1,000 tons of oxygen every 24 hours– adequate to keep a million human beings breathing for a day.Scientists with NASAs Juno mission to Jupiter have calculated the rate of oxygen being produced at the Jovian moon Europa to be significantly less than a lot of previous studies. Released on March 4 in Nature Astronomy, the findings were derived by measuring hydrogen outgassing from the icy moons surface area using data collected by the spacecrafts Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment (JADE) instrument.The papers authors estimate the amount of oxygen produced to be around 26 pounds every second (12 kgs per second). Previous quotes range from a couple of pounds to over 2,000 pounds per second (over 1,000 kgs per second). Scientists think that some of the oxygen produced in this manner might work its way into the moons subsurface ocean as a possible source of metabolic energy.Europas Potential for LifeWith an equatorial diameter of 1,940 miles (3,100 kilometers), Europa is the 4th largest of Jupiters 95 known moons and the smallest of the 4 Galilean satellites. Researchers believe a vast internal ocean of salted water hides underneath its icy crust, and they wonder about the capacity for life-supporting conditions to exist below the surface.It is not just the water that has astrobiologists attention: The Jovian moons location plays a crucial function in biological possibilities as well. Europas orbit places it right in the middle of the gas giants radiation belts. Charged, or ionized, particles from Jupiter bombard the icy surface area, splitting water particles in 2 to produce oxygen that may find its way into the moons ocean.This illustration reveals charged particles from Jupiter impacting Europas surface area, splitting frozen water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen molecules. Scientists believe a few of these newly created oxygen gases might migrate towards the moons subsurface ocean, as illustrated in the inset image. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SWRI/ PU”Europa resembles an ice ball gradually losing its water in a flowing stream. Except, in this case, the stream is a fluid of ionized particles swept around Jupiter by its extraordinary electromagnetic field,” stated JADE scientist Jamey Szalay from Princeton University in New Jersey. “When these ionized particles impact Europa, they break up the water-ice particle by molecule on the surface area to produce hydrogen and oxygen. In a way, the whole ice shell is being constantly worn down by waves of charged particles cleaning up upon it.”Capturing the BombardmentAs Juno flew within 220 miles (354 kilometers) of Europa at 2:36 p.m. PDT on September 29, 2022, JADE identified and determined hydrogen and oxygen ions that had actually been created by the bombarding charged particles and after that “gotten” by Jupiters magnetic field as it swept past the moon.”Back when NASAS Galileo objective flew by Europa, it opened our eyes to the complex and vibrant interaction Europa has with its environment. Juno brought a new ability to directly measure the composition of charged particles shed from Europas environment, and we couldnt wait to more peek behind the curtain of this interesting water world,” stated Szalay. “But what we didnt understand is that Junos observations would provide us such a tight restraint on the amount of oxygen produced in Europas icy surface area.”Juno carries 11 state-of-the-art science instruments designed to study the Jovian system, consisting of nine charged-particle and electromagnetic-wave sensors for studying Jupiters magnetosphere.”Our capability to fly close to the Galilean satellites during our prolonged mission enabled us to begin taking on a breadth of science, including some distinct opportunities to add to the examination of Europas habitability,” said Scott Bolton, Junos principal detective from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. “And were not done yet. More moon flybys and the first expedition of Jupiters close ring and polar environment are yet to come.”Oxygen production is among lots of elements that NASAs Europa Clipper objective will investigate when it comes to Jupiter in 2030. The objective has a sophisticated payload of 9 science instruments to figure out if Europa has conditions that might be suitable for life.Now Bolton and the rest of the Juno mission team are setting their sights on another Jovian world, the volcano-festooned moon Io. On April 9, the spacecraft will come within about 10,250 miles (16,500 kilometers) of its surface area. The data Juno gathers will include to findings from previous Io flybys, consisting of two incredibly close techniques of about 932 miles (1,500 kilometers) on December 30, 2023, and February 3, 2024. Recommendation: “Oxygen production from dissociation of Europas water-ice surface area” by J. R. Szalay, F. Allegrini, R. W. Ebert, F. Bagenal, S. J. Bolton, S. Fatemi, D. J. McComas, A. Pontoni, J. Saur, H. T. Smith, D. F. Strobel, S. D. Vance, A. Vorburger and R. J. Wilson, 4 March 2024, Nature Astronomy.DOI: 10.1038/ s41550-024-02206-xNASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Juno mission for the principal private investigator, Scott Bolton, of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. Juno becomes part of NASAs New Frontiers Program, which is handled at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the agencys Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) funded the Jovian InfraRed Auroral Mapper. Lockheed Martin Space in Denver constructed and operates the spacecraft.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ MSSS, Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0 The ice-covered Jovian moon creates 1,000 lots of oxygen every 24 hours– adequate to keep a million people breathing for a day.Scientists with NASAs Juno objective to Jupiter have calculated the rate of oxygen being produced at the Jovian moon Europa to be considerably less than a lot of previous research studies. Scientists think that some of the oxygen produced in this way might work its method into the moons subsurface ocean as a possible source of metabolic energy.Europas Potential for LifeWith an equatorial size of 1,940 miles (3,100 kilometers), Europa is the fourth largest of Jupiters 95 recognized moons and the smallest of the 4 Galilean satellites. Charged, or ionized, particles from Jupiter bombard the icy surface, splitting water molecules in 2 to produce oxygen that may discover its way into the moons ocean.This illustration shows charged particles from Jupiter impacting Europas surface, splitting frozen water particles into oxygen and hydrogen particles.”Capturing the BombardmentAs Juno flew within 220 miles (354 kilometers) of Europa at 2:36 p.m. PDT on September 29, 2022, JADE determined and determined hydrogen and oxygen ions that had actually been produced by the bombarding charged particles and then “selected up” by Jupiters magnetic field as it swept past the moon.”Back when NASAS Galileo mission flew by Europa, it opened our eyes to the complex and dynamic interaction Europa has with its environment.