Europa's surface is blasted by radiation from Jupiter. That's a bad thing for life on the surface – it couldn't survive. But the radiation may create fuel for life in an ocean below the surface. The radiation splits apart water molecules (H2O, made of oxygen and hydrogen) in Europa's extremely tenuous atmosphere.
Can humans land on Europa?
The transportation of humans to Europa would be one of the primary challenges to colonization. Since Jupiter is on average 630.4 million kilometers away from Earth at a given time, it would take at least 3 years just to get into Europa's orbit plus additional time to land.
Can you breath on Europa?
Europa has a thin oxygen atmosphere, but it is far too tenuous for humans to breathe. From the surface of Europa, Jupiter appears 24 times larger than the moon appears in our sky. Europa's magnetic field shields its surface from Jupiter's deadly radiation.
Can humans walk on Europa?
Europa's gravity is only about 13 percent of Earth's, resulting in a virtually nonexistent atmosphere. Because of this, Europa, like Earth's moon, has no weather, wind or sky colors. And walking on Europa would feel similar to walking on Earth's moon.
Is there oxygen on Europa?
Europa has only a tenuous atmosphere of oxygen, but in 2013, NASA announced that researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope found evidence that Europa might be actively venting water into space. This would mean the moon is geologically active in the present day.
How likely is life on Europa?
Habitability potential So far, there is no evidence that life exists on Europa, but Europa has emerged as one of the most likely locations in the Solar System for potential habitability. Life could exist in its under-ice ocean, perhaps in an environment similar to Earth's deep-ocean hydrothermal vents.
How long is a day on Europa?
1.77 3.55 Jupiter's Moons
| Facts and Figures | Io | Europa |
|---|---|---|
| Radius (km) | 1,815 | 1,569 |
| Mass (Earth Masses) a | 0.015 | 0.008 |
| Time of Orbit (Earth Days) | 1.77 | 3.55 |
| Day Length (Earth Days) | 1.77 | 3.55 |
Is the water on Europa drinkable?
The best places to look for life are where the ocean overlies warm rock. This may be the case inside Europa (Jupiter) and Enceladus (Saturn), but chemical reactions with the rock would make the liquid water salty, so not good to drink.
What makes Europa habitable?
For Europa to be potentially habitable, it would need to have the essential chemical ingredients for the chemistry of life. These include carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur, which are common elements, and scientists think it's likely they were present on Europa as it formed.
Can you not go to Europa?
ALL THESE WORLDS ARE YOURS – EXCEPT EUROPA. ATTEMPT NO LANDING THERE. The creation of the new star, which Earth eventually names Lucifer, destroys Discovery.