JWST finds carbon dioxide on Europa, fuels possibilities of life
Image Credit: NASA
Jupiter's icy moon Europa, known to have a subsurface ocean beneath its crust, is among the most intriguing targets in the search for extraterrestrial life. Now, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has found evidence of carbon dioxide, one of the main building blocks of life, on Europa. For life to exist, scientists usually look for three conditions: liquid water, the right chemistry, and an energy source. Europa appears to have the potential to check all the boxes.