Subsurface ocean of Europa
Océano subsuperficial de Europa
- Date
- 1997-2000 · confidence high
- Place
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, United States
- Credited to
- Galileo probe team (Margaret Kivelson, magnetometer)
- Field
- Movement
What was discovered
Galileo's magnetometer detected an induced field that requires a conducting layer: an ocean of salt water beneath the ice of Europa, holding more water than Earth.
NASA's Galileo probe; controlled from JPL.
What it led to
- Astrobiology of ocean worlds
- Europa Clipper and JUICE missions
- Redefinition of the habitable zone