{"id":442014,"date":"2026-01-30T01:44:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T01:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/442014\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T01:44:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T01:44:25","slug":"nasa-has-a-new-estimate-for-europas-ice-shell-and-whoa-is-it-ever-thick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/442014\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Has a New Estimate for Europa\u2019s Ice Shell, and Whoa Is It Ever Thick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Europa<\/a>, one of Jupiter\u2019s 95 moons, is encased in a shell of water ice, and researchers have just re-estimated its thickness.<\/p>\n

In 2022, NASA\u2019s Juno spacecraft zoomed close to the moon\u2019s surface. Information from this flyby has led researchers to conclude that, in the area where the flyby collected data, the moon\u2019s layer of ice is on average around 18 miles thick (29 kilometers). The new measurement, along with other new information about certain ice features, could inform our understanding of the moon\u2019s potential habitability.<\/p>\n

A 2022 flyby <\/p>\n

\u201cThe 18-mile estimate relates to the cold, rigid, conductive outer-layer of a pure water ice shell,\u201d Steve Levin, Juno project scientist and co-investigator from NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), said in an agency statement<\/a>. \u201cIf an inner, slightly warmer convective layer also exists, which is possible, the total ice shell thickness would be even greater. If the ice shell contains a modest amount of dissolved salt, as suggested by some models, then our estimate of the shell thickness would be reduced by about 3 miles [4.8 km].\u201d The JPL manages the Juno mission.<\/p>\n

Juno recorded this data on September 29, 2022, using its Microwave Radiometer (MWR). The flyby took the spacecraft within roughly 220 miles (360 km) of Europa, with the MWR gathering information from around 50% of its surface. In the search for other habitable worlds within our solar system, scientists are particularly interested in Europa, which is thought to have a salty ocean (which might hold the ingredients for life). Learning more about the ice shell above it helps us figure out what goes on beneath the moon\u2019s surface and how likely it is to host an environment where life could exist.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Shallow ice features <\/p>\n

Furthermore, Juno\u2019s flyby also identified features called \u201cscatterers,\u201d such as cracks, pores, and voids, in ice close to the surface\u2014traits that, as the name suggests, scatter the MWR\u2019s microwaves as they bounce off the ice. The researchers theorize them to be at most a few inches in diameter.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s estimate of a thick shell suggests that oxygen and nutrients would have to embark on a longer journey between the moon\u2019s surface and its potential ocean, and the study indicates that the scatterers are probably not an important route within this context. Understanding this connection could be important for future research into Europa\u2019s habitability.<\/p>\n

Habitability, habitability, habitability <\/p>\n

\u201cHow thick the ice shell is and the existence of cracks or pores within the ice shell are part of the complex puzzle for understanding Europa\u2019s potential habitability,\u201d explained Scott Bolton, Juno\u2019s principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute. He and Levin are co-authors of a study<\/a> published in December in the journal Nature Astronomy. \u201cThey provide critical context for NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper and the ESA (European Space Agency) Juice (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) spacecraft\u2014both of which are on their way to the Jovian system.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, Europa\u2019s icy crust is thicker than we thought. And with each new data point, scientists are getting a little closer to unlocking the moon\u2019s hidden secrets. Eventually, we may finally solve the mystery of whether life ever existed on this fascinating frozen world\u2014and whether it still might today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Europa, one of Jupiter\u2019s 95 moons, is encased in a shell of water ice, and researchers have just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[49,48,29279,79674,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-442014","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-europa","11":"tag-habitability","12":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}