Crescent Europa
Explanation:
Although the
phase
of this moon might appear familiar,
the moon itself might not.
In fact, this crescent shows part of
Jupiter's moon
Europa.
The passing robot spacecraft
Voyager 2 captured
this image in 1979.
Visible are
plains of
bright ice,
cracks that run to the horizon, and
dark patches
that likely contain both ice and dirt.
Raised terrain is
particularly apparent near the
terminator, where it casts
shadows.
Europa is nearly the same size as
Earth's Moon,
but much more smooth, showing few
highlands or
large impact craters.
Evidence and images from the
Galileo spacecraft, indicate that liquid oceans
might exist below the icy surface.
To test speculation that these seas hold life,
NASA has
started preliminary development of the
Europa Orbiter, a spacecraft that would use
radar to help determine the thickness of the surface ice.
If the surface ice is thin enough, a future mission might drop
hydrobots to burrow into the oceans and search for life.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
