What kind of life could Europe support?

Although we will have to wait more than five years, the Clipper mission that will reach Jupiter’s moon Europa is one of the most anticipated by scientists due to its potential explore the possibility of life on this satellite.

Europe has one of the most important ingredients for sustaining life: water. But for life as we know it to exist, organic compounds are needed in addition to water. And to this we must add an energy source. In the case of Europe, these could be thermal springs at the bottom of the ocean. Deputy project scientist Bonnie Buratti believes that any life form will be primitive, like bacterial life that originated in Earth’s deep ocean vents.

But “we won’t find out on this mission because we can’t see that deeply,” Buratti says. Unlike missions to Mars, where habitability is one of many issues, Clipper’s sole mission is determine whether the Moon can support life in its ocean or perhaps in any bag of water on ice.

Europa is one of the most promising places to search for life beyond Earth due to its underground ocean, which is estimated to be deeper than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Some types of life Microorganisms may be found there. As in extreme environments on Earth, such as hydrothermal vents, microbial life can be found that uses environmental chemistry to survive.

Chemosynthetic organisms can also be found. It is assumed that organisms can rely on chemical reactions rather than photosynthesis. This may include the use of minerals from the seabed.

And finally, the most tantalizing possibility: entire ecosystems. If there are hydrothermal vents on Europa’s ocean floor, they could there are complete ecosystems similar to those found in the depths of our oceans, with organisms living in the food chain.

Of course, life in Europe would have to adapt to high pressure conditionsdarkness and low temperatures, which could lead to the emergence of life forms very different from those we know.