On Monday (March 4), scientists announced that they managed to measure how much molecular oxygen – the type of oxygen we breathe on Earth – is present around Jupiter’s moon Europa. Although researchers have estimated the icy moon’s oxygen content in the past, the team says this is the first time we’ve made direct Its measurement.
In short, the results fell short of some previous high estimates. Could this mean that Europa, which is thought to have a vast ocean of salt water beneath its icy mantle, is less favorable for the emergence of life than we thought? Or, at least, life as we know it? Well, not necessarily, but the discussion is certainly interesting which invites further investigation.
Connected: NASA’s Juno spacecraft finds signs of activity on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa
Some previous estimates of Europa’s oxygen content exceeded estimates, according to the study. atom Oxygen emissions associated with the Moon. Unlike molecular oxygen, which is made up of two oxygen atoms, atomic oxygen is made up of just one. The latter is the kind we can’t breathe, but scientists have probably estimated how much of it exists around Europa, giving at least some constraints on how much breathable oxygen the moon has as a whole. produces.
That reasoning, in addition to some other remote-observation analyses, put some limits on how much stuff is actually associated with this Jovian satellite — but the new study found a way to get even narrower with these predictions. Researchers made a breakthrough direct Measurement of Europa’s oxygen content, thanks to NASA’s Juno probe and a little ice chemistry.
Basically, as stated in the team Summary of the study, it is possible that Europa’s surface water-ice shells have the potential to undergo a type of water-splitting process. There are certain reactions that could turn some of Europa’s frozen water molecules into molecular hydrogen (made up of two hydrogen atoms) and molecular oxygen. And if such reactions did indeed occur, evidence of it would be hidden around the Moon along with some of the resulting oxygen and hydrogen ions – ions that look as if they carry an electrical charge. The theory had a strong basis, because scientists knew that Europa’s orbital trajectory took it through one of Jupiter’s radiation belts. This belt contains a collection of charged particles that can impact the Moon’s surface, potentially initiating the water-splitting process.
Sure enough, in September of 2022, when Juno flew within 220 miles (354 kilometers) of Europa, it was able to identify evidence of such water-splitting action, the team explains. The probe found hydrogen and oxygen ions that appeared to be created by “bombardment of charged particles”. According to a statement from NASAWhich was “picked up” by Jupiter’s magnetic field as it flowed across the moon.
“Here, we report direct observations of H2+ and O2+ pickup ions from Europa’s water-ice surface separation and confirm that these species are the primary atmospheric components,” the study says.
For some numbers, scientists concluded that the Moon’s atmosphere produces 26 pounds of molecular oxygen every second (12 kilograms per second). Previous estimates range from a few pounds to 2,000 pounds per second (about 900 kilograms per second), he says. ,
“When NASA’s Galileo mission flew by Europa, it opened our eyes to the complex and dynamic interactions of Europa with its environment. Juno has a new capability to directly measure the composition of charged particles emitted from Europa’s atmosphere. came up with, and we couldn’t wait to get a further peek behind the curtain of this exciting water world,” study lead author Jamie Szalay of Princeton University, one of Juno’s instrument scientists, said in the statement. “But “We didn’t realize that Juno’s observations would give us such tight constraints on the amount of oxygen produced in Europa’s icy surface.”
While the value is lower than previously thought, the team writes in the study that this result introduces “a narrow range for habitable support in Europa’s ocean.” The concern stems partly from the fact that this water-production method could be Europa’s way of getting oxygen to its subsurface oasis.
But, as explained in a statement by NASA, there is another way to think about it. It reads, “The ice-covered Jovian moon produces 1,000 tons of oxygen every 24 hours – enough to keep one million humans breathing for a day.” Still, would life on an alien moon (even just life as we know it) need some alien oxygen? Stay on it.
what is next? The team says they’re also going to dissect another Jovian moon: Io.
study was published March 4 in the journal Nature Astronomy.