Unfrozen Mysteries: Exploring Icy Oceans on Distant Moons

Moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn, such as Europa and Enceladus, have subsurface oceans that defy expectations of being frozen solid. Scientists are still trying to understand why these oceans exist, as the residual heat from their creation should have dissipated long ago. Possible explanations include tidal heating caused by gravitational interactions with neighboring moons, radioactive decay of elements within the moons, and the presence of certain chemicals that act as antifreeze. The upcoming missions of the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer and NASA's Europa Clipper aim to gather more data and confirm the existence of these oceans, potentially shedding light on the possibility of life beyond Earth.