What happened?
Jupiter's moon Europa, believed to have a salty ocean under its icy shell, has less oxygen on its surface than previously believed. This makes it less likely the planet harbors life, scientists said Monday in Nature Astronomy.
Who said what?
Europa's oxygen is "on the lower end of what we would expect," lead study author Jamey Szalay said to The New York Times. But "it's not totally prohibitive" for hosting life.
The commentary
One theory is Europa's oxygen — formed when particles from space split frozen water molecules on the icy crust into hydrogen and oxygen — sinks down into the subterranean ocean, mixing with volcanic material to create a "chemical soup that may end up making life," University of Colorado planetary scientist Fran Bagenal told the Times. "We don't really know how much oxygen you need to make life," she added. "So the fact that it's lower than some earlier, wishful-thinking estimates is not such a problem."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
NASA is scheduled to launch its Europa Clipper orbiter in October to gather more data from Jupiter's moon, and the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer is expected to arrive in Europa's neighborhood in 2031.
-
Apple bows to Trump administration pressure over ICE tracking appsIn the Spotlight It’s the latest company to capitulate to Trump’s demands
-
Can TrumpRx really lower drug prices?Today’s Big Question Pfizer’s deal with Trump sent drugmaker stocks higher
-
‘Every argument has a rational, emotional, and rhetorical component’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The moon is rustingUnder the radar The Earth is likely to blame
-
Panspermia: the theory that life was sent to Earth by aliensUnder The Radar New findings have resurfaced an old, controversial idea
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programsThe Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
NASA reveals ‘clearest sign of life’ on Mars yetSpeed Read The evidence came in the form of a rock sample collected on the planet
-
SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th testspeed read The Starship rocket's test flight was largely successful, deploying eight dummy satellites during its hour in space
-
NASA is moving away from tracking climate changeThe Explainer Climate missions could be going dark
-
Atoms into gold: alchemy's modern resurgenceUnder the radar The practice of alchemy has been attempted for thousands of years
-
Hurricanes are not exclusive to Earth. They can happen in space.Under the radar These storms may cause navigational problems
