Pictures support theory of water on Europa

High-resolution image of Europa's ridged plains

March 2, 1998
Web posted at: 1:29 p.m. EST (1829 GMT)

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (CNN) -- Newly released images of Jupiter's moon Europa -- the most detailed ever taken -- show more evidence that there is slush, and perhaps even water, beneath Europa's icy surface. The presence of water would increase the odds that life may have existed at some point in Europa's history.

The Europa pictures, from NASA's Galileo's spacecraft, were released at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and on the Internet site of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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A L S O :

- Image gallery of recently released photos of Europa
taken by NASA's Galileo space probe -

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An area where the icy surface seems to have been melted, broken, filled in, and moved
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An area where the ice has been broken into a complex pattern
	2MB / 25 sec. / 320x240 800 K / 25 sec. / 160x120 QuickTime movie

They were taken by the Galileo spacecraft during a December 16, 1997, fly-by and received on Earth in late February.

The new pictures include high-resolution views of rough, broadly scalloped icy cliffs on Europa as high as Mount Rushmore.

Other images show an impact crater named Pwyll and the so-called Conamara Chaos region, where icy plates on the surface have broken apart and moved around.

Computer-generated model with a topographical perspective view of the Pwyll impact crater

One large, icy fracture is big enough to be spanned by the Brooklyn Bridge.

Galileo, which was launched in 1989 and arrived at Jupiter in 1995, is making a two-year tour of its four major moons: Io, Europa, Callisto and Ganymede.

The Galileo mission is due to continue through December 1999.

Related stories:

• Galileo moves on to Europa - Dec. 16, 1997
• Is ice on Jupiter's moon a sign of life? - Apr. 9, 1997
• Galileo offers stunning views of Jupiter and moons - Oct. 17, 1996
• Galileo provides surprises about Jupiter - January 23, 1996
• Galileo Probe Multimedia Gallery - December 7, 1995

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• NASA Homepage
  • Project Galileo
  • Europa Fact Sheet
  • Europa
  • The Galileo Probe (NASA Ames News & Photo Archives)
  • NASA fact sheet for Jupiter's moons
• Views of the Solar System
• Europa
• Galileo image plan
• Jupiter - from "The Nine Planets"
• SETI - the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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