One of the most exciting missions of the past decade, NASA’s Juno mission, has helped us learn more about our solar system’s gas giant, Jupiter, and the moons that surround it. Now, new data gathered by the little space probe could help us better understand Europa’s oxygen levels, as well as how habitable the moon could be.
A prevailing theory that has popped up in the past couple of years is that Jupiter’s ice-covered moon, Europa, could actually be habitable. It’s an interesting proposition that has helped spur more study of the moon and made it a popular candidate for the ongoing search for signs of alien life.
Now, though, new data seems to indicate that we’ve had it all wrong. Europa’s actually severely lacking when it comes to oxygen, which means it’s actually a really poor candidate for sustaining any kind of alien life.
Researchers discovered this new revelation using data from Juno’s 2022 flyby of the Jovian moon. Calculations made using that data show that Europa likely only produces around 26 pounds (12 kg) of oxygen per second. This is a far cry from previous estimations that Europa generates 2,205 pounds (1,000 kg) of oxygen per second.
