NASA teases 'surprising' activity on Jupiter's moon

PanARMENIAN.Net - There's something going on beneath the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa. And NASA teased a "surprising" announcement for Monday, September 26, based on Hubble Space Telescope images of the celestial body, which many experts believe could contain a subsurface ocean, even possibly some form of life, AFP says.

The U.S. space agency has already proclaimed that Europa has "strong evidence for an ocean of liquid water beneath its crust and which could host conditions favorable for life."

At Monday's announcement, "astronomers will present results from a unique Europa observing campaign that resulted in surprising evidence of activity that may be related to the presence of a subsurface ocean," it said in a statement.

The announcement will be made at a news conference at 2 pm (1800 GMT) Monday featuring Paul Hertz, NASA's director of astrophysics, and William Sparks, an astronomer with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

NASA announced last year that it intends to send a robotic spacecraft, equipped with a suite of scientific instruments, to circle Europa in the 2020s.

In 2012, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope "observed water vapor above the south polar region of Europa," suggesting water plumes may be erupting from the moon, the space agency said, according to AFP.

If those plumes are confirmed, and if they are found to originate from a subsurface ocean, scientists hope the spacecraft could study their chemical makeup, revealing characteristics of the water without having to drill through ice.

Jupiter, nicknamed the king of the solar system, is surrounded by more than 50 moons.