Europa

There is strong evidence Jupiter's moon Europa has a saltwater ocean that may be one of the best places to look for environments where life could exist beyond Earth.

Facts About Europa

Europa is the fourth largest of Jupiter’s 95 moons. It's the sixth-closest moon to the planet.

Europa may be one of the most promising places in our solar system to find present-day environments suitable for some form of life beyond Earth. Scientists believe a saltwater ocean lies beneath its icy shell, holding twice as much water as Earth's global ocean. It also may have the chemical elements that are key ingredients to life. NASA is launching its Europa Clipper spacecraft on Oct. 10, 2024, to determine whether there are places below Europa's surface that could support life.

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Europa has reddish brown lines and patches in this image from Juno.

This view of Jupiter's icy moon Europa was captured by JunoCam, the public engagement camera aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022.

Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS | Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0

Europa by the Numbers

How big is Europa? How far is it from the Sun?

Use this tool to compare Europa to Earth, and other worlds.

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Europa rises above Jupiter in this image from New Horizons,

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft took this image of Europa hanging above Jupiter's cloud tops on Feb. 28, 2007, six hours after the spacecraft's closest approach to Jupiter.

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

Exploring Europa

NASA's Europa Clipper is launching Oct. 10, 2024, on the first mission to conduct a detailed science investigation of Europa.

Six robotic spacecraft have explored Europa, and scientists do regular observations of the moon with Hubble Space Telescope. Europa was first observed up close during the Jupiter flybys of Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1 and Voyag e r 2. Most of what we know about the moon comes from observations by the Galileo mission. NASA's Juno spacecraft is orbiting Jupiter, and has made close flybys of Europa.

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An artist's concept of the Pioneer 10 spacecraft.

NASA

Europa Multimedia

Images, posters and more.

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The largest portion of the Europa's surface can be seen at the highest resolution from Galileo.

The surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa looms large in this color view, made from images taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft in the late 1990s.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute

Pop Culture

Europa has been featured in short stories, comics, and novels, with perhaps the best known being the Arthur C. Clarke novel “2010: Odyssey Two,” which was also adapted for film.
In “The Expanse” television series (2015–2022), people live and grow food on Europa.
At least two “Star Trek” federation starships were named for Europa, and in “Star Trek: Picard” a mission to Europa helped save Earth.
Europa was the setting for the 2013 film “Europa Report,” and it was featured in an episode of the animated television show “Futurama.”
The moon has also been the setting or subject of several video games, including “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare” and “Galaga: Destination Earth.”

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Europa Clipper Website
Europa Clipper’s main science goal is to determine whether there are places below the surface of Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, that could support life.
NASA Photojournal: Europa
Images of Europa from NASA spacecraft.