Jupiter's Moon Europa Has Enough Oxygen For Life October 16th, 2009 Enlarge

A model of Europa's interior, including a global ocean. If a 100 kilometer-deep ocean existed below the Europan ice shell, it would be 10 times deeper than any ocean on Earth and would contain twice as much water as Earth's oceans and rivers combined. Credit: NASA/JPL

New research suggests that there is plenty of oxygen available in the subsurface ocean of Europa to support oxygen-based metabolic processes for life similar to that on Earth. In fact, there may be enough oxygen to support complex, animal-like organisms with greater oxygen demands than microorganisms.

It looks like its a water world after all.

Data collected earlier this year by the Galileo spacecraft has now generated what some scientists are calling virtually undeniable evidence that Jupiters moon Europa has a significant water ocean churning beneath its icy surface.

The data, which was collected by Galileos magnetic-field-detecting instruments when the spacecraft flew close to the icy moon, showed that there is an electrically charged layer of some substance stirring possibly as close as 4.7 miles (7.5 kilometers) below the moons ice crust. Planetary scientists say the most likely explanation for the data is a liquid-water ocean similar to oceans found on Earth a possibility that has extraterrestrial life-seekers reeling with excitement.