Research Press Release
Nature Astronomy
March 5, 2024
A paper reports that the total amount of oxygen produced on the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may be lower than previously assumed.Nature AstronomyPublished in This finding has implications for the habitability of Europa’s ocean.
Jupiter’s moon Europa has an internal liquid ocean with habitable conditions beneath its frozen crust. Europa’s surface is constantly exposed to radiation, which breaks down the icy crust into oxygen and hydrogen. Most of the oxygen and hydrogen escapes from the Earth’s surface and either escapes into space or remains to form Europa’s atmosphere. The abundance of these gases and ions in the atmosphere, and by extension their production rates on the satellite surface, are estimated mainly by remote sensing observations and are subject to large uncertainties.
Jamey Szalay and colleagues analyzed data from the Juno spacecraft’s flyby of Europa on September 29, 2022. Juno is believed to have flown 353 kilometers above Europa’s surface. Szalay et al. used Juno’s aurora distribution experimental device (JADE) to investigate various pickup ions (charged ions that occur when neutral particles in the atmosphere split up when they collide with high-energy radiation or other particles). The abundance of particles) was obtained. From this data, Szalay and colleagues calculated that approximately 12 kilograms of oxygen is produced on Europa’s surface every second. This is at the lower end of the expected value predicted by conventional models, which range from 5 to 1,100 kilograms per second.
Szalay et al. say their results indicate that there may be less oxygen on Europa’s surface than previously thought, which is too narrow a range to support habitability in Europa’s oceans. I think it means that.
doi:10.1038/s41550-024-02206-x
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