Europa Reveals Ammonia Compounds, Hinting at Active Cryo-Volcanism

Advanced analysis of data from NASA's Galileo spacecraft has identified ammonia-bearing compounds on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. This discovery utilized information captured by the spacecraft's Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) instrument during Galileo's 11th orbit of Jupiter in 1997.

Detection Details and Location

The ammonia-bearing compounds were detected in an area approximately 250 miles (400 kilometers) wide. These detections appear near dark, crisscrossing bands, which indicate fractures in Europa's icy surface.

Implications for Europa's Geology

The presence of these compounds in proximity to surface fractures suggests they may have been actively placed there by cryo-volcanic processes.

Such processes could involve liquid water from Europa's extensive subsurface ocean rising to the surface.

About the Galileo Mission

NASA's Galileo mission was launched in 1989 and concluded its extended mission to the Jupiter system in September 2003. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California managed the mission.