- Can life exist in Europa’s deep underground ocean? Some recent studies have raised questions, but another new study suggests a path to life.
- Radiation from Jupiter produces chemical nutrients In a crust of ice above the ocean.
- These nutrients can sink through the ice layer. Chunks of nutrient-rich ice can then break up and sink into the ocean, providing a potential source of nutrients for life.
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Is there a path for life in Europa’s ocean?
Earlier this month, EarthSky reported A new discovery suggests that the subsurface ocean of Europa, one of Jupiter’s large moons, may not be geologically active enough to support life. But another new study from Washington State University shows that life may still exist. researchers said It is predicted that on January 15, 2026, chemical nutrients contained in the ice crust covering the ocean could enter the ocean itself. If this is the case, even microorganisms could provide a pathway for life to live in the ocean by providing nutrients to them.
Radiation from Jupiter interacts with salts and other substances to produce chemical nutrients.
researchers published interesting peer reviewed as a result Planetary Science Journal January 20, 2026. austin green Virgina Polytechnic Institute (formerly Washington State University) and katherine cooper from Washington State University co-authored the paper.
Study suggests path to life-support conditions in Europe Oceanastrobiology.com/2026/01/stud… #astrobiology #Europa #EuropaClipper
— Astrobiology (@astrobiology.bsky.social) 2026-01-21T19:42:31.797Z
Europa’s ice nutrients
Even if Europa’s ocean floor is geologically inert and therefore unable to produce chemical nutrients, there are other ways these nutrients can be reached. A new study suggests that chemical nutrients formed in ice on the moon’s surface may be able to reach underground oceans.
Scientists know that the surface ice crust is geologically active. Additionally, radiation from Jupiter produces chemical nutrients by interacting with salts and other materials on the Earth’s surface. But the key question is whether those nutrients can reach the ocean.
nourish the ocean
Researchers say it’s possible. They discovered a process called. Crustal separation Indeed, nutrients can descend into the ocean through the upper ice layer.
Essentially, the ice is squeezed by the tectonic movements of the ice layer that are already known to occur on Europa, causing some to break off and sink into the ocean. A similar process is actually occurring on Earth. lithosphere peels off from structural plate What it came with.
However, Europa’s ice would need to weaken sufficiently for it to break off and sink. The researchers used computer models to show that dense, nutrient-rich ice sinks to the bottom of the ice shell. It can then separate and sink into the ocean. green said:
This is a new idea in planetary science, inspired by ideas well understood in Earth science. Most interestingly, this new idea addresses one of Europa’s long-standing habitability issues, and is a good sign that extraterrestrial life could exist in its oceans.
european clipper
NASA’s european clipper The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive in Europe in 2030. It will allow us to study the moon’s icy crust and ocean in more detail than ever before. Data sent back to Earth will help scientists determine whether this life pathway actually occurs. They will also provide new information about the ocean floor and whether it is really as stagnant as recent studies suggest.
The Europa Clipper’s 1.8 billion mile (2.9 billion kilometer) journey includes another gravity assist this year, this time using Earth.
Even if Clipper’s assessment of Europa’s habitability turns out to be negative, it will still be an exciting mission. This underwater world has fascinated scientists and the public alike since the founding of NASA. galileo discovered by a spaceship first evidence About the sea in the late 1990s. What will Europa Clipper find?
Conclusion: New research shows that life in Europe’s oceans may be sustained by chemical nutrients that sink into the ocean from the upper icy crust.
Via Washington State University
Read more: Europa’s ocean is ‘quiet and lifeless,’ new study suggests
Read more: Europa’s strange ‘spiders’ hint at water lurking below