There may be life on Jupiter's moon

Jupiter's ice-covered moon Europa may be showing signs of extraterrestrial life. This is evidenced by a new article from scientists at Stanford University, publishedDouble ridge formation over shallow water sills on Jupiter’s moon Europa / Nature Communications in the journal Nature Communications.

Of course, we are not talking about intelligent life. In the best case scenario, we will most likely see something small and simple - like bacteria. But even this will serve as proof that life is possible outside of our planet.

The most likely place where something living is able to hide is called pools of salt water under massive double ridges that stretch for thousands of kilometers across the surface of Europe. Such ridges can reach 300 meters in height, and their valleys separate them with a width of at least 800 meters.

It is believed that they were formed according to the same principle as in Greenland. Shallow pools of underground water froze again and again and broke the surface, and gradually the ridges became higher and higher. And it is this water that is able to carry substances necessary for the life of organisms.

If in Greenland water comes from nearby lakes, then in Europe this is impossible: the surface is completely frozen. This suggests that water is rising from the underground ocean. Scientists believe that this ocean has a depth of 64 to 160 km, and the water in it is twice as much as in all the oceans of the Earth.

We can test this hypothesis relatively soon: NASA has planned a mission for 2024 Europa Clipper. Within its framework, the spacecraft will make 45 flybys at a distance of 2,700 to 25 kilometers from the surface of the satellite.

The data obtained will allow scientists to analyze the ability of Europa to support life and choose a potential site for landing vehicles in the future.