From NASA: Europa's Ocean May Have An Earthlike Chemical Balance

[Ichingcarpenter]

A new NASA study modeling conditions in the ocean of Jupiter's moon Europa suggests that the necessary balance of chemical energy for life could exist there, even if the moon lacks volcanic hydrothermal activity.

Europa is strongly believed to hide a deep ocean of salty liquid water beneath its icy shell. Whether the Jovian moon has the raw materials and chemical energy in the right proportions to support biology is a topic of intense scientific interest. The answer may hinge on whether Europa has environments where chemicals are matched in the right proportions to power biological processes. Life on Earth exploits such niches.

In a new study, scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, compared Europa's potential for producing hydrogen and oxygen with that of Earth, through processes that do not directly involve volcanism. The balance of these two elements is a key indicator of the energy available for life. The study found that the amounts would be comparable in scale; on both worlds, oxygen production is about 10 times higher than hydrogen production.

The work draws attention to the ways that Europa's rocky interior may be much more complex and possibly earthlike than people typically think, according to Steve Vance, a planetary scientist at JPL and lead author of the study. "We're studying an alien ocean using methods developed to understand the movement of energy and nutrients in Earth's own systems. The cycling of oxygen and hydrogen in Europa's ocean will be a major driver for Europa's ocean chemistry and any life there, just as it is on Earth."

Ultimately, Vance and colleagues want to also understand the cycling of life's other major elements in the ocean: carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur.


http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6514

[Ghost Dog]

1. 'EUROPA, ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS THERE'

Astrobiologists like myself would deeply appreciate an actual landing on the surface of Europa. Sadly this will not happen just yet.

Until very recently, this project and similar had been thrown onto the budgetary scrapheap, much to the dismay of anyone who thinks this Galilean moon of Jupiter warrants more than just a cursory glance. Things have thankfully changed! The Europa Clipper flyby mission is a fantastic opportunity to give us invaluable knowledge as to why and what makes this moon so fascinating...

... Europa is the fourth largest moon in the Jovian [Jupiter] orbital system, roughly the same size as our own Moon. It is an icy satellite with a high albedo (like snow, highly reflective). It is nearly devoid of impact craters, indicating a young surface. This, along with clear evidence of a fractured ‘chaotic’ exterior, indicates the presence of liquid water underneath the ice. This works much like plate tectonics on Earth, a solid crust floating on a dynamic fluid which moves things around. There is also the presence of an induced magnetic field, which can only happen with a liquid medium. On Earth, we have a liquid outer core which keeps our magnetosphere going, so for Europa to have this is very exciting; do not forget it would be unlikely I would be writing this if we did not have one to protect us and our planet when our Sun is having a magnetic hissy fit.

This liquid water has to be kept warm somehow, considering its distance from the Sun. Europa has little to no atmosphere and it is small. Its next door neighbour is Io, the most volcanic place in our Solar system. The reason for Io being so explosive, and Europa having a subsurface ocean, is tidal heating. Basically this means that their elliptical orbits around Jupiter are pushing, pulling and squeezing the moons, causing friction and heat. For Io, this means volcanoes, for Europa, a liquid ocean potentially twice the size of our own oceans on Earth. Due to this tidal heating, you can understand why Arthur C. Clarke imagined life could exist or emerge around hydrothermal vents deep under the ocean like they do here on Earth.

The Galileo mission achieved 11 flybys of Europa, the Clipper mission will flyby an estimated 45 times at a range of distances from 24 to 2700km (15-1700 miles). This craft could blast off as soon as 2020 with a 3 year or so duration costing around $2 billion. This solar powered craft will actually orbit Jupiter for two reasons, firstly, it uses less fuel if you are using gravitational slingshots; the other is planetary protection-think ‘Prime Directive,' ditching into Jupiter is far safer than possibly causing havoc in a potential biosphere...

https://www.themittani.com/features/all-these-worlds-are-yours-except-europa-attempt-no-landings-there?nopaging=1

[snort]

2. I attended a lecture last night

presented by Kevin Hand on this very subject. I'd love to live long enough to see a successful landing/drilling mission to Europa and Enceladus but they way we've been dragging our feet on science doesn't give me a lot of hope. I asked him if he wouldn't like to swap budgets with the Pentagon for one year and he was wistful. He'd be commanding his own Interplanetary Exploration Ship by now. Fun Presentation.

[byronius]

3. Really, that is an absolutely sensible idea. Wholly rational.

Every dollar spent on science brings incalculable return over time. We should be straining the national budget to make the leap to robotic asteroid mining and colonization.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump wants to spend huge amounts to upgrade our nuclear arsenal. Because no reason.

But I would vastly prefer your idea. I'm going to spread that meme.