Europa Ice

[voyagerwsh]

Dr. Daniel Shain, biologist at Rutgers University, has discovered ice worm that lives in freezing ice of Arctic glacier. That would be first multicellular organism found to live in the 0 degree centigrade harsh icy environment. This finding may hint a preview of critters on crack icy layer on Europan, although Europa is much colder and more radiated by the Jupiter.

astrobiology.arc.nasa.gov...fm?id=1224

[voyagerwsh]

Dr. Richard Greenberg, planetary scientist at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, has developed an Europan-like biosphere beneath its icy crust. Although the shape of marine "life forms" may not like ours on earth, the ecosystem may well provide jellyfish, bugs, photosynthesis plants, zooplankton and phytoplankton.

  Tides and the Biosphere of Europa

[clifdweller]

Excellent thread Voyager!

Have you heard any of the possible implications NASA's new attitude towards nuclear space projects has in regards to an ice melting Europan probe? I always assumed it would have to be nuclear to begin with. But this new attitude may speed the whole thing up.

I wouldn't mind seeing a new Jovian probe that could study the entire system for decades being launched. Followed by  multiple landers. We're going to have to set up a reliable com link with the landers first, I would assume. Why not plan ahead for landers on Callisto and Ganymeade as well.

[voyagerwsh]

I guess it is a short-term set back for Europa Orbiter program, longer term nuclear propulsion and RTGs should benifit outer planets exploration. We understand that nuclear generators are more powerful and long lasting, US subs and aircraft carriers are all nuclear powered. The technology has been there for decades, just needs extra precaution to implement it into space programs.

Cliff, I will say that we have to conclude Europa has an ocean before we would send out a lander. Europa Orbiter is initially developed to find out sea water beneath icy layer. Scientists and NASA has experimented analogy drilling on Antarctica for some time, nuclear or RTG powered drillers may do better job compared to conventional battery or solar panel. BTW, I personally think that bulging ISS expense has taken the toll of planetary programs. But ISS is very essential to human interplanetary flight. I hope Europa programs will be on their prime soon.

[voyagerwsh]

Sort of more follow up information referring Europa tide and Europa astrobiology from Dr. Richard Greenberg...

"There is a possible biosphere that extends from way below the surface to just above the crust."--Richard Greengerg.


www.spaceref.com/news/vie...l?pid=7350

Still feeling discouraged on the cancellation of Europa Orbiter.

[voyagerwsh]

Hypothesis of hydro dynamics in the interior Europan ocean.

[voyagerwsh]

According to recent study by Robin E. Bell of Columbia University and her colleagues, ".. the hydrodynamics of the lake may make it possible to search for evidence of life in the layers of ice that accumulate on the lake's eastern shore. Scientists say such a possibility would provide another avenue for exploring the lake's potential as a harbor of microscopic life, in addition to actually exploring the waters of the lake itself."

They suggested that the lake water has minimum of 400,000 of isolated ecosystem. East side of ice layer near the edge of the lake may offer a better microbial life research without penetrating the lake water and contaminating it.

www.spaceref.com/news/vie...l?pid=7818

[voyagerwsh]

"Compelling evidence for a liquid water ocean beneath its icy crust makes Jupiter's moon Europa an attractive target for scientists seeking life in distant regions of our solar system. Recent work by Dr. Elisabetta Pierazzo, currently at the Planetary Science Institute, and Dr. Christopher Chyba of the SETI Institute, sheds light on the question of whether enough "biogenic elements," the raw ingredients for life, including carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus, could be present to support Europan life.

...In the May edition of the journal Icarus, Pierazzo and Chyba present a paper that concludes the Europan inventory to be "substantial."

In their model, Pierazzo and Chyba used typical cometary sizes, densities, and impact velocities throughout Solar System history to calculate how much biogenic material would remain on the moon's surface after impact events. Unlike the more massive Earth, which has a much higher escape velocity and can therefore retain a higher percentage of cometary impact material, Europa has a very low escape velocity, thus losing a significant portion of material from any projectile that hits its surface.

Nevertheless, cometary impacts would provide billions of tons of carbon, and somewhat less nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus to the surface of Europa. These amounts are significant, and correspond to about 1% of the biomass of prokaryotic life (cells lacking nuclei and believed to be representative of early life) in today's Earth oceans.

...at a minimum, Europa has enough of the elements needed to sustain a biosphere offers further reason for scientists to feel hopeful about the search for extraterrestrial life within our own solar system."


Europa Has Right Stuff
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Europa, Ganemyde and Callisto all possible harbor liquid ocean beneath their crust. Such moons are very promising for life existence in the outer solar system.

[voyagerwsh]

By studying the width of impact craters on Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, Paul Schenk of  the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston has estimated thickness of those Jovian moons. Europa has 19 km thick ice crust, Ganymede and Callisto are at least 80 km to dig into an ocean.

www.nature.com/nsu/020520/020520-6.html

[Orstio]

19 km is quite a bit of ice to dig through.  Mybe further research will reveal thinner areas.

[voyagerwsh]

I would like to think so, Orstio. Some ice plates are completely dissapeared, according to Alyssa R. Sarid from the previous thread. Perhaps, the thickness of Europan ice is not very homogeneous at all.

[voyagerwsh]

"Breakthrough research on waves of ultra-cold atoms may lead to sophisticated atom lasers that might eventually predict volcanic eruptions on Earth and map a probable subsurface ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa.

The atoms were manipulated to form tidy bundles of waves, called solitons, which retained their shape and strength. They were created in a laboratory at Rice University, Houston, under a grant from NASA's Biological and Physical Research Program through the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

"Eventually, atom-wave lasers may enhance sensors for studying Earth and various bodies in the solar system," said Dr. Lute Maleki, principal investigator for the Quantum Gravity Gradient Project at JPL. "With these advanced sensors, we'll be able to produce a 3-D map of underground features. By measuring levels of underground magma, for example, scientists may be able to predict volcanic eruptions. This technology could be used on a spacecraft to map the ocean believed to lie beneath Europa's icy crust."


www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases...2_148.html
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Tight bundles of solitons may someday help us to uncover the inside composition of Europa.    


       


       

[voyagerwsh]

The newly discovered Silverpit Crater off the coast of England has similar impact structrues between it and Tyre Crater on Europa.

[voyagerwsh]

Perhaps not from Mars, but Deinococcus radiodurans certainly win their toughest nature against lethal doses of gamma ray radiation. Nevertheless, Anatoli Pavlov and his colleagues from the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St Petersburg, Russia say such tough bacteria could come from Mars.

www.newscientist.com/news...ns99992844

[voyagerwsh]

By studying the crack and fault images from the Galileo, Dr Richard Greenberg and colleagues at the University of Arizona, Tucson, US, thought that Europa has Arctic-like occean rather than isolated Lake Vostok. Sources of tidal friction and long-term comet or meteoroid impacts could provide energy and organic materials which is needed for life in the occean beneath Europan icy crust.

Dr. Cynan Ellis-Evans, of the British Antarctic Survey, also suggest that volcanic sulfur source from near-by sibling IO could increase the possibility of life on Europa.
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"In thermodynamic terms life abhors equilibrium," he (Dr. Cynan Ellis-Evans) says. "These new interpretations suggest that a Europan ocean and its ice cap could be dynamically interacting with the moon's surface atmosphere over short time scales that increase opportunities for life to exist and evolve."-- news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2284852.stm