NASA’s Juno spacecraft has captured high-definition images of Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons, revealing a landscape marked by fractures, ridges, bands, and surprisingly large pits. These features indicate that the icy crust of Europa is not locked in place but is floating atop a liquid water ocean, supporting the theory of true polar wander. Additionally, black-and-white images taken by the spacecraft’s Stellar Reference Unit have captured features on Europa’s nightside, suggesting the presence of active ice volcanoes and water plumes jetting from the subsurface ocean. The research, published in the Planetary Science Journal and JGR Planets, provides crucial insights for future missions to Europa, including NASA’s Europa Clipper and ESA’s Juice, which aim to search for signs of life on this intriguing moon.
