This week's space photo: NASA sees the movement of a "platypus" on Jupiter's moon Europa

What is it: Europa, Jupiter’s fourth largest moon.

where is she: It is about 417,000 miles (671,000 km) from Jupiter and 500 million miles (805 million km) from the Sun.

When shared: May 19, 2024.

Why is it so special: Slightly smaller than Earth moonEurope is like a planet. It contains a magnetic field, a weak oxygen atmosphere, and a core of liquid iron. It also has an ice crust 11 miles (18 km) thick that hides a salty ocean underneath.

Is this salty ocean rising through the ice? Yes, this newly published image of Europa points to Earth by NASA’s Juno spacecraft orbiting the Earth Jupiter Since 2016.

A view of Europa taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in 2000 (Image credit: ASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

Juno’s ultra-sensitive Stellar Reference Unit instrument captured an image during a close flyby on September 29, 2022, when the spacecraft passed just 220 miles (355 km) from Europa’s icy crust. It was one of the first high-resolution images of Europa since NASA’s Galileo spacecraft passed by in 2000.

Related: NASA has revealed a “glassy-smooth lake of cooled lava” on the surface of Jupiter’s moon Io

The black-and-white image – taken from the night side of Europa when it was illuminated only by light reflected from Jupiter – shows a feature nicknamed the “platypus” (in a yellow box). Measuring about 23 miles by 42 miles (37 kilometers by 67 kilometers), this “chaos terrain” contains hummocks, ridges, glaciers, and dark reddish-brown material. It’s the latest feature to be imaged in the region – and scientists believe it’s where Europa’s icy crust allows pockets of salty water from the moon’s subterranean ocean to collect.

About 31 miles (50 km) above the Platypus is a double ridge running east-west (blue box) with potential patches around it. It is thought that these spots may be deposits from plumes of salt water rising to the surface from the ocean of Europa.

Juno’s close flyby also saw four Visible light images of Europe Captured by JunoCam, it shows that the ice crusts at the moon’s north and south poles are not where they used to be. This indicates that Europa’s icy crust is floating freely and moving around the moon.

The Juno mission will end in 2025, but there are two more missions headed to Europe. NASA Europe Clipper It will launch later this year and arrive in 2030. Meanwhile, the European Space Agency is slower juice The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer was launched in 2023 and will arrive in 2031 to tour three of Jupiter’s moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa.