Year: 2018-19
Layan Jaber
School: Universal College Aley
City: Beirut
Teacher: Diala Hassan
"Have you ever wondered what would life be on other planets or moons? Well, Earth isn’t the only place that can have living things! Thanks to Galileo Galilei who discovered Europa, Jupiter’s incredible moon. Who knows? Maybe, in the next decade, we’ll discover species thriving on Europa awaiting us! Why Europa?
Well, scientists must be interested to explore Europa in specific for many interesting reasons.
The first reason is that Europa’s surface is solid ice. Moreover, Galileo’s spacecraft and telescope increased scientists interest when they knew that an ocean twice as large as Earth’s oceans is found under the icy layer that is estimated to be 15 to 25 km thick, floating on the enormous ocean underneath. Europa’s vast ocean is the most possible place to find life on.
The second reason is that Galileo’s spacecraft discovered one of the most important measurements which showed how Jupiter’s magnetic field was damaged in the space around Europa.
The Measurement hinted that a unique type of magnetic field is being formed within Europa by a deep layer of some electrically conductive liquid underneath the surface. Scientists think the most likely substance to form this magnetic sign is a global ocean of salty water, and is the best proof they have for an ocean to exist there.
The third reason Europa caught the interest of scientists and astronomers, is finding that its structure is similar to Earth’s structure. Europa has an iron core, rocky mantle, and a salty ocean. However, Europa’s ocean lies unknown under a thick icy shell. Moreover, Europa may have the three essential needs for survival: Liquid water, suitable chemical elements, and an energy source.
Recently Europa seems to be the only moon in our solar system that has two of these requirements. An energy source on Europa was hard to find, but if scientists find any life there it may likely be microbes. In addition to these three main needs, Europa has a slight atmosphere of oxygen.
I encourage scientists to launch another spacecraft to Europa to discover more interesting details about it. Although it’s very expensive scientists can stop inventing nuclear bombs to harm people and use the money to make space crafts to discover an unknown world that could bring hope of solutions to problems people are facing on Earth such as pollution."
