A Potential Sign of Life Has Just Been Discovered on Europa

The James Webb Space Telescope focused on Jupiter's moon Europa and found something truly remarkable. It discovered carbon dioxide in a very specific place on the surface of the moon, hinting that something intriguing is happening inside it.

Decades of exploration of the solar system have shown that Jupiter's moon, Europa, is one of the most promising places where we can find life beyond Earth. That's because of the vast ocean the moon hides beneath its icy crust. The first evidence of the subsurface ocean came when NASA's Voyager spacecraft flew past Jupiter about half a century ago. The data from the spacecraft revealed that Europa was not just icy but had a young, frequently rejuvenated outer surface.

Further missions to study Jupiter and its moons suggested that Europa's underground ocean of liquid water contains twice the volume of all of Earth's oceans combined. However, what truly piques our interest in this moon is the possibility that it may have hosted life within its mysterious, dark waters, where organic molecules and potential energy sources might exist.

And now, the most powerful space telescope ever built has delivered its first significant results concerning the Jovian moon. So, how did Webb discover carbon dioxide on the surface of Europa? How are astronomers so sure that it came from beneath the surface of the moon? Finally, and most importantly, why is the discovery of carbon dioxide on the surface of Europa so important?

The 75th episode of the Sunday Discovery Series answers all these questions in detail.

Created By: Rishabh Nakra
Narrated By: Jeffrey Smith

[irene_renaissance]

Europa is fascinating indeed! 😮 ❤️I always appreciate the way SOU explains things so interestingly. 👏👍❤️

[lovingthesauce]

PLEASE EDIT OUT THE SOUNDS OF THE NARRATOR GASPING FOR AIR BEFORE EVERY SENTENCE

[HoundDogMech]

Jus think Modern man has been around for 1/4 Million years yet 90% of our Knolwledge of the Universe has come in the last 5 Decades.

[PhilipMurphyExtra]

Very good video, Space is always a interesting topic.

[xlx]

Who tf started cracking Europa on the kitchen counter like an egg 💀💀💀

[MisterTee]

As for Pluto. We did not make the mistake. They did.

[skinfology]

Amazing that even so outside the habitable zone, you can expect such place for signs of life

[SamusKerrigan]

Why did you discontinued the Sunday episodes?

[CAROLDDISCOVER-]

I remember all the hoopla when this was launch the back in the late 70s. It's interesting how they built upon this.

[angelag]

I recall a whistleblower talking about NASA having Remote Viewers who remote viewed Europa and saw Octopi 😁

[stanislev]

Thank you for all the commercials. I wonder coudn't you put in more?!

[erichowry]

Very good video! Sounds promising of life being there

[anglosaxon]

OOOhh green house gases and moon warming! lol

[PlanetXMysteries-pjnm]

"I dream of being an astronaut that discovers an alien craft.
They are out there. Great story."

[robertlangford]

We better help Europa cut down on CO2...nett zero to stop plants growing there😂😂

[mfanasibilimanonankosi]

I thought the JUICE Mission was going to do what Clipper is planned to do, or have I missed something?🤔🧐😳

[billyhomeyer]

You removed Pluto from your list of planets. It’s still on our list.

[lalogarcia]

Just imagine if we sent special equipment with a space x rocket falcon 9 🤤

[rodento]

Or it could just be volcanic...There is no question that very large volcanic eruptions can inject significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens vented approximately 10 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere in only 9 hours.

[mospeada]

If they're so interested in it, why doesn't it already have its own dedicated probe?