Jupiter's moon Europa shows possibility of life

New Delhi : Scientists have discovered the great possibility of the existence of life on Jupiter's icy moon Europa. 

Based on a theoretical research, scientists from the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Brazil evaluated microbial habitability of Europa using data collected from similar environments on the Earth.

“We studied the possible effects of a biologically usable energy source on Europa based on information obtained from an analogous environment on Earth,” said Douglas Galante, a researcher at Brazil’s National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS).

The scientists discovered a site on Earth with a similar terrestrial context to Europa. They also found Mponeng gold mine near Johannesburg, South Africa, at a depth of 2.8 km with traces of major changes linked to history of life on Earth.

It was recently discovered that the bacterium Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator survives inside the mine without sunlight by means of water radiolysis, the dissociation of water molecules by ionising radiation.

“This very deep subterranean mine has water leaking through cracks that contain radioactive uranium. The uranium breaks down the water molecules to produce free radicals,” Galante said.

As per researchers, the environment in the mine resembles perfectly to the assumed environment at the bottom of Europa's ocean.

As per prior findings it is known that the temperature on Europa's surface is next to absolute zero, but it can have enormous amount of thermal energy in the core.