Europa Likely Hides Ocean With 2x Earth’s Water Under 15-25 km of Ice

2 articles · Updated · spacedaily.com · Jul 4

Scientists now treat Europa as a likely global ocean world, with models indicating a buried salty sea that could contain about twice as much water as all of Earth’s oceans.
Galileo spacecraft flybys provided the key evidence: disturbances in Jupiter’s magnetic field around Europa point to an electrically conductive layer beneath the surface, best explained by liquid saltwater.
Current estimates put Europa’s ice shell at roughly 15 to 25 kilometers thick above an ocean perhaps 60 to 150 kilometers deep, kept liquid by tidal heating as Jupiter’s gravity flexes the moon.
That hidden ocean remains unconfirmed by direct sampling, so NASA’s Europa Clipper will use repeated flybys to study the ice shell, chemistry and magnetic environment for signs of habitability rather than life itself.
Europa’s significance reaches beyond size claims: it strengthens the case that potentially habitable environments can exist far from sunlight, sealed beneath ice on ocean worlds across the solar system.

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Scientists Confirm Europa's Vast Buried Ocean, Potentially Largest in Solar System

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NASA is planning a 2037 mission to explore Europa, one of Jupiter's icy moons, in search of alien life. Beneath its frozen surface lies a vast subsurface ocean possibly holding the conditions

Could life from Earth have reached Europa, and will NASA's Clipper mission find our own distant microbial cousins hiding in its ocean?

With its seafloor possibly quiet and water plumes now in doubt, could Europa’s vast hidden ocean be a lifeless trap?

Europa Clipper Mission 2024–2030: Probing the Ocean, Chemistry, and Life Potential of Jupiter’s Moon

Overview

NASA launched the Europa Clipper mission on October 14, 2024, using a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. This spacecraft, the largest NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, began its multi-year journey to Jupiter’s moon Europa to investigate its potential for life. Europa Clipper follows a Mars–Earth Gravity Assist trajectory, using gravitational slingshots to gain speed during its long cruise. After launch, the spacecraft completed initial checkouts and performed a Mars gravity assist in early 2025. These steps are crucial for reaching Europa, where the mission will study the moon’s internal structure and habitability.

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