Scientists said Tuesday that there are shallow pockets of water beneath the icy surface of Jupiter's moon, boosting hopes for the search for extra-terrestrial life.
A key ingredient for life in our solar system is liquid water, which is found in the vast ocean of Europa.
The ocean is predicted to be buried up to 17 miles beneath the moon.
According to new research published in the journal Nature Communications, water could be closer to the surface than previously thought.
The finding was partly due to chance, when the scientists studying the ice sheet spotted a feature they recognized.
The senior author of the study said that they were working on something different when they saw the double ridges.
They realized that the M-shaped icy crests on Greenland looked like smaller versions of double ridges on the moon.
The double ridges were first photographed by NASA in the 1990s, but little was known about how they were formed.
The scientists used ice-penetrating radar to observe that water pockets around 100 feet below the ice sheet formed ridges.
Scientists have been studying double ridges on Europa for more than 20 years and have not yet come to a definitive answer for how they form.
This was the first time that we were able to observe the processes that lead to the formation of the ridges and we were able to watch it.
It suggests that shallow water pockets must have been very common.
Life has a chance.
It would be much easier to get to the water pockets on the moon than it is to get to the ocean.
Culberg said it was possible that the water pockets would preserve evidence of life in the ocean.
The possibility that life has a shot is increased by the fact that water closer to the surface contains interesting chemicals from space and other moons.
We may be able to find out more quickly.
The radar equipment used by the scientists studying Greenland's double ridges will be used by NASA's Europa Clipper mission.
It is unlikely that the spacecraft will find definitive proof of life because it will not land on the island.
Hopes remain high. The ocean on the moon is predicted to have more water than all of Earth's seas combined.
The origin of life on Earth must have been very easy, if there is life in Europa, according to the project scientist.
More information: Riley Culberg, Double ridge formation over shallow water sills on Jupiter's moon Europa, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29458-3. www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-29458-3 Journal information: Nature CommunicationsThere will be a new year in 2022.
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