The shell structure of Europa with its water ocean
The shell structure of Europa with its water ocean
Jupiter's moon Europa is slightly smaller than Earth's own moon but may contain more than twice as much liquid water than all of Earth's oceans combined. Scientists believe that Europa has a global saltwater ocean beneath its icy surface that is perhaps 60 to 150 kilometres deep. Deeper down there is probably a rocky mantle and a metallic core. The inner structure of Europa will be studied in detail by NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will orbit Jupiter and make 49 flybys of the moon. Europa Clipper's three main sci-entific objectives are to determine the thickness of Europa's icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to study its composition and to characterise its geology.
