Molecules essential for life are spilling from Europa’s atmosphere

A new discovery of ammonia on the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon Europa could have important implications for the search for extraterrestrial life.

Jupiter’s largest moon, Europa, appears to have life-friendly molecules on its ice-covered surface.

While analyzing old data of the mission Galileowho studied Jupiter and its moons between 1995 and 2003, Al-Emranresearcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, detected ammonia on the surface of the gigantic moon of the largest planet in the Solar System.

The discovery was presented in a recently published in the journal The Planetary Science Journal.

According to NASA officials, data collected in 1997 by Galileo’s near-infrared mapping spectrometer show “signs of ammonia” near cracks in Europa’s frozen surface.

This is the “first detection of this type in Europe”, having important implications for the icy moon habitabilityconsidered one of the most likely places in the solar system for harbor extraterrestrial lifehighlights the statement.

Or ammonia, NH₃is a molecule bearer of scourge and one of the ingredients of life as we know it, along with carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and water. In the new article, Emran explains that the discovery thus has “astrobiological significance, given the essential role of nitrogen in the chemistry of life“.

The Galileo space probe operated in the Jupiter system between 1995 and 2003until you run out of fuel. Engineers deliberately steered the spacecraft toward the giant planet in order to avoid any risk of contamination from Europa or other icy moons.

Although the mission ended operations more than 20 years ago, scientists sometimes discover new perspectivess on older datasets, either using latest tools or knowledgewhether examining information that had not been previously analyzed.

In the new investigation, NASA detected traces of ammonia near fractures on the icy surface of Europa. These fractures are believed to contain liquid water with ammonia compounds; ammonia lowers the freezing point of water, functioning in a certain way as antifreezeexplains the agency.

“Or ammonia may have come from the moon’s subsurface oceana, or its shallow subsurface”, NASA officials say in the statement.

This is because ammonia does not last long in space, as it is broken down by ultraviolet light and cosmic radiation. THE cryovolcanismor icy volcanism, likely pushed the ammonia compounds to the surface, they explained.

A Europe Clipper missionwhich launched in October 2024 and is expected to arrive in the Jupiter system in April 2030, will specifically look for chemical signals of habitability on the icy moon, and could reveal more information.