NASA discovered water vapor on a Jupiter moon and investigates the possibility of extraterrestrial life

07/26/2021 17:38

• Clarín.com

• International

Updated 07/26/2021 8:13 PM

NASA shared a scientific investigation where it confirmed the discovery of what would be the first sign of water vapor in the atmosphere

of Jupiter's

moon Ganymede

. 

Considered

the largest moon in the solar system

,

Ganymede

is speculated to

contain a liquid ocean 100 miles below its icy surface.

This would

indicate, according to NASA scientists,

which

may have suitable conditions for aquatic life alien.

Ganymede in the foreground, with Jupiter in the background.

Photo / DPA

How NASA studied life on Jupiter's moon

To confirm this finding, the researchers used new and archival data sets from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

In this way they 

discovered what could be water vapor

in the thin atmosphere of the moon.

However, it

is likely that the water comes from ice evaporating

on Ganymede's surface, and not from a subterranean ocean.

The discovery

extends scientists' knowledge of Ganymede's atmospheric content

, which until now only consisted of oxygen.

"

Only molecular oxygen had been observed

," explained Swedish scientist Lorenz Roth of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, who led the team of researchers for NASA.

"

This phenomenon occurs when charged particles erode the surface of the ice.

The

water vapor

that we have now measured originates from sublimation of ice caused by the thermal escape of water vapor from warm icy regions," added Roth.

The findings raise expectations for

the next European Space Agency mission,

JUICE (Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer), scheduled to launch in 2022 and arrive at Jupiter in 2029.

JUICE will make detailed observations of Jupiter

and three of its largest moons for at least three years.

"Our results can provide JUICE instrument teams with

valuable information that can be used to refine their observation plans

to optimize the spacecraft's heading," concluded Lorenz Roth.

What is Jupiter's moon Ganymede

It is the largest natural satellite of Jupiter

and the solar system, as well as being the only one with a magnetic field. 

Jupiter.

One more chapter of NASA in its attempt to capture extraterrestrial life.

Photo / Archive

In absolute terms,

the moon Ganymede

is the ninth largest object in the solar system

and the largest without a significant atmosphere.

This year the news broke that the

Juno probe

, launched on August 5, 2011, and which

entered the orbit of Jupiter on July 4, 2016

, to study the formation and development of the planet, had a strange incident.

"Juno observed the gravity and magnetic fields of Jupiter, atmospheric dynamics and composition and evolution," they noted from NASA.

However, what attracted attention was that it

received a mysterious radio wave from Ganymede's moon. 

Patrick Wiggins, one of the ambassadors of the US agency in the state of Utah,

declared that the signal would not have an alien origin, stating that these sounds are usually "of a natural function."

The signal was recorded for only 5 seconds

, while the device was traveling at a speed of 50 kilometers per second through the polar region of Jupiter, where the lines of its magnetic field connect with Ganymede.

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