Huge ocean underneath icy Europa

Scenario for getting water to Europa’s surface. Artist's conception of ridges and fractures on Europa  Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA’s Hubble space telescope has imaged what may be plumes of water vapor on Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Underneath its ice, there could be a global ocean of water. Future missions to Europa may be able to sample its ocean without having to drill through miles of ice.

Europa’s ocean is believed to be one of the most promising places in our solar system that could potentially harbor life. The ocean contains twice as much water as Earth’s oceans but lies beneath hard ice of unknown thickness.

Read the full article NASA’s Hubble Spots Possible Water Plumes Erupting on Jupiter's Moon Europa.

Hubble Directly Images Possible Plumes on Europa