The ocean on Jupiter’s icy moon
Europa may have the Earth-like balance of chemical energy necessary for life,
even if it lacks volcanic hydrothermal activity. Europa is strongly believed to
hide a deep ocean of salty liquid water beneath its icy shell. In the study,
scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) compared Europa’s
potential for producing hydrogen and oxygen with that of Earth, through
processes that do not directly involve volcanism. The balance of these two
elements is a key indicator of the energy available for life. The study found
that the amounts would be comparable in scale; in both worlds, oxygen
production is about 10 times higher than hydrogen production.
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