NASA Finds Building Block of Life on One of Jupiter’s Moons

As NASA continues its search for life across the cosmos, one new study could potentially point towards the idea of extraterrestrial life on one of Jupiter’s moons. Earlier this month, the space agency released a study that purportedly includes proof of carbon dioxide on the surface of Europa, a moon that has a flowing ocean beneath its icy surface. Two different papers were published on the matter, using data obtained by the James Webb Space Telescope.

“On Earth, life likes chemical diversity – the more diversity, the better,” Geronimo Villanueva, lead author of the first paper, said in a statement from NASA. “We’re carbon-based life. Understanding the chemistry of Europa’s ocean will help us determine whether it’s hostile to life as we know it, or if it might be a good place for life.”

“We now think that we have observational evidence that the carbon we see on Europa’s surface came from the ocean. That’s not a trivial thing. Carbon is a biologically essential element,” added Samantha Trumbo  lead author of the second paper.

Though carbon dioxide has been found on the planet, that’s not definitive proof it harbors alien life. That said, NASA intends to launch its Europa Clipper spacecraft at some point next year, a mission intending to capture more data from the celestial body.

“Scientists are debating how much Europa’s ocean connects to its surface. I think that question has been a big driver of Europa exploration,” added Villanueva. “This suggests that we may be able to learn some basic things about the ocean’s composition even before we drill through the ice to get the full picture.”

This news follows similar studies in which other potential building blocks of life were discovered. Earlier this summer, in fact, researchers discovered molecules on Venus that are only produced by humans on Earth.

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