Plumes on Europa could come from water in Jupiter moon’s crust

Washington, Nov 15 : Plumes of water vapour that may be venting into space from Jupiter’s moon Europa could come from within the icy crust itself, according to new research.
A model using images collected by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft outlines a process for brine, or salt-enriched water, moving around within the moon’s shell and eventually forming pockets of water –even more concentrated with salt — that could erupt.
“Understanding where these water plumes are coming from is very important for knowing whether future Europa explorers could have a chance to actually detect life from space without probing Europa’s ocean,” said lead author Gregor Steinbrugge, a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University’s School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences.
Scientists have considered the possible plumes on Europa a promising way to investigate the habitability of Jupiter’s icy moon, especially since they offer the opportunity to be directly sampled by spacecraft flying through them.
The insights into the activity and composition of the ice shell covering Europa’s global, interior ocean can help determine if the ocean contains the ingredients needed to support life.
The source of the plumes is important: Water originating from the icy crust is considered less hospitable to life than the global interior ocean because it likely lacks the energy that is a necessary ingredient for life.