Image source: NASA

The James Webb Space Observatory looks beyond the youth of the universe. It will also help you discover the secrets of the many corners of our native solar system. A recent example is the observation of Jupiter’s moon Europa, under whose ice there is a salty splash ocean. Webb answered one of the key questions for assessing the possibility of life on Europa: is there carbon and where does it come from?

Observing Europa with the NIRCam near-infrared camera and NIRSpec spectrometer helped identify areas of frozen carbon dioxide (CO2) accumulation. The resolution of the spectrometer is 320 × 320 km per pixel. This was enough for the analysis to show concentrations of crystalline CO2 substances mainly in two regions of Europe: in the Tara and Powys regions. And that solves everything: It answers the question of where carbon dioxide comes from and whether there could be biological life in the subglacial ocean of a small planet. The Tara, Powys and other regions of Europe are of what is known as the chaotic relief type. These are regions with no clearly defined surface structure – literally a chaotic mass of everything lying on top of everything. On Europa, such areas appear in places believed to have megapolynyas, where the subglacial ocean is in one way or another exposed to the outside environment. Therefore, scientists concluded that the carbon came from the ocean surface and not from space on comets or asteroids. In the ocean, carbon dioxide can be produced during the decomposition of organic matter or other chemical processes. Either way, it will increase your chances of one day exploring biological life in European waters.

The Tara, Powys and other regions of Europe are of what is known as the chaotic relief type. These are regions with no clearly defined surface structure – literally a chaotic mass of everything lying on top of everything. On Europa, such areas appear in places believed to have megapolynyas, where the subglacial ocean is in one way or another exposed to the outside environment. Therefore, scientists concluded that the carbon came from the ocean surface and not from space on comets or asteroids. In the ocean, carbon dioxide can be produced during the decomposition of organic matter or other chemical processes. Either way, it will increase your chances of one day exploring biological life in European waters. The first image on the left was taken with an infrared camera, all subsequent images were taken with a spectrometer (CO2 shown in white) Unfortunately, during these short-term observations of Europa, scientists were unable to detect any gas plumes or geysers emanating from the satellite’s bowels. Signs of active gas exchange – plumes – have been observed in Hubble’s observations of Europa. Webb had no luck with this, suggesting that jets on Europa only occur under certain circumstances.

Only drilling and direct access to its ocean can fully elucidate the question of the existence of biological life on Europa. But it’s still very, very far away. Everything will be clearer after 2030, when NASA’s Europa Clipper robotic station begins flying over Europe. The device is expected to launch in October 2024. The station’s science mission will begin in 2030 with multiple flybys of this Jupiter moon.