NIRCam (the Near Infrared Camera) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope captured this picture of the surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa. Webb identified carbon dioxide on the icy surface of Europa that likely originated in the moon’s subsurface ocean. Photo courtesy of NASA
Sept. 22 (UPI) — Data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals the presence of carbon dioxide on a region known as Tara Regio, on Jupiter’s moon Europa, raising the possibility of favorable conditions for life.
Astronomers have detected carbon dioxide on the icy surface of Tara Regio, a finding supported by two studies, indicating that it may have originated from Europa’s subsurface ocean.
“Understanding the chemistry of Europa’s ocean will help us determine whether it’s hostile to life as we know it, or if it might be a good place for life,” remarked Geronimo Villanueva, lead author of one of the studies, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in a news release.
Using the Near-Infrared Spectrograph instrument on the Webb telescope, Villanueva’s team measured the amount of light at different wavelengths to determine the chemical composition of the ice.
“We now have observational evidence suggesting that the carbon we see on Europa’s surface came from the ocean. This is significant as carbon is an essential element for life,” said Samantha Trumbo, lead author of the other paper and affiliated with Cornell University in Ithaca.
Scientific American reported that the high concentrations of carbon dioxide found in Tara Regio, a region with disrupted surface ice, indicate a resemblance to Earth’s deep-sea hydrothermal vent systems, which are believed to be a potential origin site of life on Earth.
Villanueva’s team also searched for water vapor plumes but found no evidence in the new Webb data. Previous research had tentatively detected plumes, suggesting their variability.
“This work provides a glimpse into the amazing possibilities for solar system science that Webb will bring.,” said Heidi Hammel of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in the NASA news release.
NASA is scheduled to launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft in October 2024, which will further investigate the potential for Europa to sustain life.
