Dear MEL School’s Topic Readers,
Jupiter's largest
moon definitely has an ocean: NASA
Ganymede, or Jupiter
III, is the largest moon of Jupiter and also in the Solar System. It is
actually larger than planet Mercury. It is covered with ice, as thick as 150
km. Underneath the ice, scientists and astronomers had been suspecting the existing
of salt water that could nourish life of some kind. Now, already a-quarter-century
old Hubble Space Telescope confirmed that discovery by observing changes in the
aurorae around the distant moon, which scientists believe provides the best
evidence for the existence of an ocean under the ice crust.
However, a
telescope cannot see things inside the crust. So, the next step is to send a
research space craft there. The European Space Agency mission is planning to
launch an explorer in 2022 called Jupiter's Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE). It’ll
travel a long distance and arrive at Jupiter in 2030. Still a long way to go,
isn’t it?
Enjoy reading and
learning about this breakthrough discovery.
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