NASA: There is enough oxygen on Europa for a million people
NASA studies moons orbiting Jupiter. It turns out that one of them has enough oxygen to sustain the lives of about a million people for one day.
Jupiter’s moons have been arousing curiosity among scientists for decades. Experts suspect that they may exist under the icy surfaces of some of them conditions for the formation and survival of life. The Juno probe, sent in 2011 to study the phenomenon of Jupiter’s moons, has just provided us with interesting information. It turns out that one of them produces quite a lot of oxygen.
Lots of oxygen on Europa. Enough for a million people
Earlier this week, NASA released an interesting report on the discoveries made by the Juno probe. It turns out that within 24 hours on 1,000 tons of oxygen are produced on the surface of Europe. However, it is much less than initially expected. Scientists came to these conclusions by measuring the outgassing of hydrogen from the icy surface of the moon. The data was collected by Juno’s JADE (Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment) instrument.
It turns out that they are produced in Europe only 12 kilograms of oxygen per second. Previous estimates were less accurate and indicated that oxygen production on Jupiter’s moon ranges from a few to as much as 1,000 kilograms per second.
When NASA’s Galileo mission flew past Europa, it opened our eyes to the complex and dynamic interaction that Europa has with its surroundings. Juno has made it possible to directly measure the composition of particles ejected from Europa’s atmosphere, and we couldn’t wait to see further behind the curtain of this fascinating water world. But we didn’t realize that Juno observations would show us so much
e reducing the amount of oxygen produced on Europe’s ice surface
– he said
Jamey Szalay of Priceton University.If there is indeed life on Europa, it is most likely simple forms such as microorganisms. However, if they exist, they are hidden beneath Europa’s thick icy crust. Scientists can’t wait to look beneath it. It will be launched at the end of 2024 Europa Clipper probe, which will arrive around 2030. The ship will be equipped with 9 instruments that will help determine whether Europa actually has conditions suitable for the emergence of life.