(ORDO NEWS) — Europa is of particular scientific interest because scientists believe that a salty ocean lurks beneath the moon‘s frozen surface.
And if it exists – which the upcoming Europa Clipper mission will explore with surface-penetrating radar – then it may contain the “ingredients” for life, if not life itself.
The last picture was taken during the Juno flyby on September 29th. The image covers approximately 30,000 sq. km of the surface of Europe, where grooves and hummocks in the ice predominate.
The new image complements the first images taken during the flyby. Darker patches on the ice may indicate that something is burrowing beneath the lunar crust, according to a recent NASA release.
The white spots dotting the image are signs of high-energy particles from radiation in the Moon‘s environment.
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