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Saturday, October 05, 2024

NASA releases photo of ocean world. It shows why NASA's going there. What hides beneath the ice?

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Planetary scientists suspect Jupiter's moon Europa contains an ocean at least twice the size of Earth's. The Europa Clipper probe " which is the length of a basketball court and the largest craft the agency has sent on a planetary mission " is slated to blast to this distant realm on Oct. 10.

Before the launch, NASA released a new detailed view of the moon's cracked surface, which shows why for decades researchers have been drawn to this tantalizing place.

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"It's perhaps one of the best places beyond Earth to look for life in our solar system," Cynthia Phillips, a NASA planetary geologist and project staff scientist for the space agency's Europa Clipper mission, told Mashable.

"This region sports ice rafts that look like those at Earth's poles, where large chunks of ice break away and float freely on the ocean," the agency wrote.

"Much of the region bears the reddish/brownish discoloration seen here " the same as seen along many of Europa's fractures. Scientists believe this material may contain clues about the composition of an ocean beneath the icy surface, if it is proven to exist."

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2024-10-05 08:48 PM | Reply

"The last time this spacecraft will be seen in person."

x.com

#2 | Posted by Corky at 2024-10-05 08:54 PM | Reply

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