NASA Reveals Close-Up of Europa’s Landscape Ahead of Clipper’s Launch
NASA has just released a stunning colorized close-up of Europa’s icy surface, showing the rugged terrain of Conamara Chaos. This area is thought to be formed by massive rafts of ice shifting and cracking as water or slush from beneath rises to the surface. Though this image was originally captured in 1997 by the Galileo Orbiter, NASA has enhanced it to reflect the actual colors of the region, which could offer clues about the possible ocean beneath Europa’s ice. With the upcoming Europa Clipper mission set to launch soon, scientists hope to learn if Jupiter’s moon could support life by analyzing its composition through 49 planned flybys.
