NASA Showcases Stunning View of Jupiter's Moon Europa

Officials of the US space agency NASA have reprocessed the data collected by Galileo spacecraft using modern imaging techniques to display the amazing colors of Europa, which is a mysterious ice-covered moon of the Jupiter discovered hundreds of years ago.

It’s important to note that the Galileo spacecraft explored the Jupiter and its moons in the 1990s.

In the reprocessed image, the officials have enhanced the view of Europa that NASA had created in 2001. As per the US space agency, NASA revealed that the new photo, which was released on Nov 21, highlights the largest proportion of Europa's surface at the highest image resolution.

NASA researchers revealed that the space agency is planning to explore Europa in the coming decades to discover if there is water lurking underneath the icy shell of the moon. If the space researchers will succeed in finding water, there will be a possibility that Europa could host life, they added.

Kevin Hand, an astrobiologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a new video about Europa, the moon could act as a game-changer for missions which are finding traces of life. Europa derives most of its energy from Jupiter and not the sun. As the moon orbits the massive gas giant, the immense gravity from Jupiter causes Europa to flex. Such flexing produces friction which creates a possibility for moons and planets to host liquid water, no matter how far they are far from the traditional habitable zone of such bodies.
(Image: NASA)