Jupiter’s moon Europa has long been favoured as a possible site for life because of its underground oceans. This from Discovery.com
If alien life swims in the ocean beneath Europa’s icy surface, it might have got its start from comets cracking the icy shell to deliver vital pre-life ingredients, say researchers.
Imagine a geyser hundreds of kilometers high. Sound crazy? Well, on Jupiter’s moon they exist, and what these super geysers eject could give us invaluable insight into this unique, ice-covered planet.
New simulations show that a specific family of comets have the mass, velocity and opportunity to do the job — penetrating the full range of likely Europan ice thicknesses. More.
A comet getting through the ice depends on how thick it is at impact. But we don’t know whether any comets delivered pre-life ingredients; we only have a sim that says it’s possible. Rats.
Question: If we did not know there is life on Earth (let’s say we lived billions of km away), what possibility would a simulation offer?
NASA is hoping for a Europa mission. That’s what’s really needed to settle it, not simulation of possibilities, interesting as they may be.
See also:
Don’t let Mars fool you. Those exoplanets teem with life!
and
Maybe if we throw enough models at the origin of life… some of them will stick?
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