Jan 17 1997
From The Space Library
NASA released images taken from Galileo as it soared just 430 miles (690 kilometers) above the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. The images revealed the apparent traces of massive ice volcanoes. According to early analysis of the pictures, ice volcanoes and the movement of tectonic plates had reshaped the surface of Europa, one of the bodies in the universe that scientists believed might once have hosted life. The presence of water, organic compounds, and adequate heat, all of which would be present if ice volcanoes existed on the moon, had led scientists to focus on Europa as a location for possible development of life. According to Galileo team member Robert J. Sullivan, the apparent traces of ice volcanoes supported the even more significant possibility that an ocean might exist below the surface of Europa. Because NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) managed the Galileo Mission, the scientific community credited JPL with providing the vital new images of the surfaces of Europa and Jupiter that had led to further discussion about the possibility of life beyond Earth.
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