Jupiter's Moon, Europa, May be Covered in Sea Salt from a Subsurface Ocean

The dark material coating parts of Jupiter's moon, Europa, may actually be sea salt. Scientists believe that these dark features could be evidence of a subsurface ocean, which is huge in terms of determining whether or not the icy moon can support life.

"We have many questions about Europa, the most important and most difficult to answer being is there life?" said Curt Nieber, Outer Planets Program scientist at NASA, in a news release. "Research like this is important because it focuses on questions we can definitively answer, like whether or not Europa is inhabitable. Once we have those answers, we can tackle the bigger question about life in the ocean beneath Europa's icy shell."

In images of Europa, scientists can see dark material that coats long, linear fractures and other relatively young geological features on the moon's surface. Because it coats young material, it suggests that it erupted from within Europa. Yet scientists have been unable to determine its chemical composition.

However, it would make sense of the material was salt from the ocean below. Since Europa is bathed in radiation created by Jupiter's powerful magnetic field, it's possible that the material is darkened by this particular radiation.

The researchers actually recreated the surface of Europa in the lab, and exposed salt to the harsh environment. The salt samples turned a yellowish-brown color, similar to the features on the icy moon.

"This work tells us the chemical signature of radiation-baked sodium chloride is a compelling match to spacecraft data for Europa's mystery material," said Kevin Hand, the lead researcher.

The findings suggest that it could very well be salt from a subsurface ocean. That said, further research is needed in order to better understand the surface of this icy world.

The findings are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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