All articles tagged with #potential habitability
New research suggests Saturn's moon Titan contains slushy ice layers with pockets of liquid water, challenging the previous idea of a vast underground ocean, and expanding the possibilities for potential life environments on Titan.
Recent analysis confirms the presence of complex prebiotic molecules in the ocean of Saturn's moon Enceladus, increasing its potential as a habitable environment and prompting plans for a dedicated mission to explore its ocean directly.
A new study suggests that the Trappist-1 system's planets are likely barren and stripped of their atmospheres, making the existence of life in the system unlikely. The study indicates that the intense radiation from the system's red dwarf star has likely caused the planets to lose their atmospheres at a rapid rate, rendering them warm, dry rocks. This finding has significant implications for the potential habitability of planets orbiting red dwarf stars, which make up a large portion of the stars in our galaxy.
The James Webb Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide on Jupiter's moon Europa, providing evidence of a subsurface ocean with the potential to support life. The carbon molecules were found to originate from Europa's internal ocean, indicating the presence of a biologically essential element. The discovery has important implications for the potential habitability of Europa and highlights the groundbreaking science made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope. The findings could also inform future missions, such as NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft and the European Space Agency's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) mission.
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has detected carbon dioxide on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, indicating that the carbon likely originated from the moon's subsurface ocean. This discovery has important implications for the potential habitability of Europa's ocean, as carbon is a biologically essential element. The findings also provide insights into the composition of Europa's ocean and may inform future missions, such as NASA's Europa Clipper and ESA's Juice, which aim to explore the moon and its potential as a habitat.
NASA's Perseverance rover has captured high-resolution photographs of an ancient riverbed on Mars, providing evidence of a once-thriving and powerful Martian river. The discovery sheds light on the planet's geological past and potential for supporting life. Scientists are examining the images to decipher additional details about the ancient river, including its size, flow patterns, and composition, to gain deeper insights into the role of water on Mars and its implications for the planet's potential habitability.
NASA's Perseverance rover has captured hundreds of images of the Jezero Crater on Mars, revealing evidence of a deeper and more powerful river than previously thought. The river delta being explored is marked by curving layers, evidence of past water flow. The sedimentary deposits are anomalously tall for rivers on Earth, but the most common way to create these kinds of landforms would be a river. The team is investigating alternative explanations for the formation, but more observations will deliver more insights into the past of Mars including its potential habitability.