Jupiter's moon Europa has long been one of the most tantalising targets in the search for extraterrestrial life, thanks to a vast ocean hidden beneath its icy crust. But a new study suggests that ocean may be far less hospitable than scientists once hoped.
Researchers modelling Europa's interior conclude that its rocky seafloor is likely too rigid to support tectonic or volcanic activity, processes that on Earth drive chemical reactions essential for life. Without fractures, faulting or underwater volcanism, the moon's ocean would struggle to generate the nutrients and energy microbes need to survive.
On Earth, life is thought to have emerged around hydrothermal vents, where heat and chemistry interact at the ocean floor. The study, published in Nature Communications, argues Europa probably lacks such features today, making its deep ocean a largely inert environment.
The findings complicate, but do not end, the search. NASA's Europa Clipper mission, launched in 2024, is en route to begin close flybys in 2031, hunting for signs that Europa's hidden ocean could still surprise scientists, or that it may once have been alive billions of years ago, before its internal engine cooled.