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Jupiter Moon Europe, shown by Nasas Galileo spaceship. | Credit: NASA
A long -standing puzzle about the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on Jupiters icy ocean moon, Europe, can be closer to the dissolved solution.
Hydrogen peroxide forms as a by -product when energetic particles break out water molecules, which leads to the recombination of OH radicals – highly reactive molecules with unpaired electrons.
H2O2 was first observed by the Galileo near the infrared mapping spectrometer on Europe, a scientific instrument on board the Galileo -Jupiter orbiter of NASA, which was developed to examine the composition and surface features of the moons and the atmosphere of the gas giant using infrared light. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) later noticed increased hydrogen peroxide levels in unexpected areas on the Jovian satellite.
Laboratory studies predicted that higher concentrations of hydrogen peroxide were found in the colder polar regions of Europe – but JWST observations showed the opposite that found higher values in the warmer equator regions of the moon. These areas known as chaos terrain are characterized by broken surface ice blocks, which apparently shifted, drift and restored.
“Peroxide distribution in Europe does not follow the temperature dependency predicted for pure water ice,” wrote the team in their work. Laboratory studies consistently show that colder ice has more H2O2, while warmer ice is less.
In a new study, scientists report that, in addition to increased H2O2 values, they have found higher carbon dioxide levels (CO2) in the chaos site. This is probably the result of CO2 that escapes the underground ocean in Europe through cracks in the ice, the researchers say.
This rendering of Europe shows the temperature field in a simulation of the global ocean dynamics of the icy Jupiter Moon, in which hot feathers (red) sink from the sea floor and the cool liquid (blue) from the ice cream border. Near the equator, more heat is delivered to the ice shell, which corresponds to the distribution of chaos terrain on Europe. | Credit: KM Soderlund/NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
The team therefore wondered whether the presence of CO2 could change the chemistry of the ice cream.
“Could the presence of CO2 drive the extended peroxide production in Europe chaos regions and signal a surface composition for the formation of this radiolytic oxidation?” You wrote in your newspaper. “The support of this hypothesis is preliminary experiments on irradiated H2O CO2 emissions that show increased H2O2 yields compared to pure water ice.”
To find a final answer, “she simulated the surface environment of Europe in a vacuum chamber by mixing water ice cream with CO2,” said Bereket Mamo, a doctoral student at the University of Texas in San Antonio and a contractor of the Southwest Research Institute. “We then irradiated this ice mixture with energetic electrons to see how peroxide production has changed.”
The experiment confirmed what the team suspected: Even small amounts of CO2 in water ice can significantly increase the hydrogen peroxide production at temperatures that are similar to those of the Europe surface, which contributes to explaining the unexpected YWS observations.
This occurs because CO2 molecules behave as “molecular aa -eaters” and take all stray electrons that are made on the water ice during radiation. By absorbing these electrons, the CO2 helps to protect hydrogen peroxide from further effects or reactions from the bite.
Related stories:
– Europe: A guide to Jupiter’s icy ocean moon
– ‘Chaos’ prevails under the ice of Jupiter Moon Europa, James Webb space telescope unveiled
– Europe clipper: a complete guide to NASA’s astrobiology mission
“The synthesis of oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide on the Europe surface is important from astrobiological point of view,” said the co-author of the study, Richard Cartwright, from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. “In fact, an entire NASA mission, the Europe Clipper, is currently on the way to the Jovian system to explore the ice moon and to help us understand the habitability of Europe.
“Our experiments offer clues to better understand the observations of JWST Europe and serve as a prelude to upcoming close-distance examinations of Europa Clipper and Esas [the European Space Agency] Juice spaceship, ”added Cartwright.
The new study was published on Monday (July 21) in the Planetary Science Journal.
