Ocean on Jupiter Moon compatible host for life

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.