Is there life in the moving water oceans of europa?

Question

europa being a satellite moon of jupiter has a a frozen ice ocean. its orbit and internal heat however means the ocean is slush ice and liquid water approx 5-10 km from the surface...

are there fishes in this waters??

Answer 1

I believe that it is a distinct possibility. Unfortunately, scientists don't yet know, but still, it is perhaps the best candidate within the Solar System for extra-terrestrial life.

So let's hope so!

Answer 2

of coarse there are...=]

Answer 3

Yeah. Lets all go fishing

Answer 4

It has been suggested that life may exist in Europa's under-ice ocean, perhaps subsisting in an environment similar to Earth's deep-ocean hydrothermal vents or the Antarctic Lake Vostok. Life in such an ocean could possibly be similar to microbial life on Earth in the deep ocean.

Life on Europa could exist clustered around hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, or below the ocean floor, where endoliths are known to habitate on Earth. Alternatively, it could exist clinging to the lower surface of the moon's ice layer, much like algae and bacteria in Earth's polar regions, or float freely in Europa's ocean.

Answer 5

A scientist doesn't reach conclusions without a great deal of data, and usually the conclusion he does reach is a tentative one, a theory, that is subject to revision as evidence thereafter obtained seems to warrant.

That's why science performs better with predictions and with solving problems than religion does. Science is humble enough to search for its own mistakes, and correct them when they are found. Religion, ever arrogant, simply claims that there were never any mistakes in the holy dogmas. "Never, do you hear! No, I won't look though your telescope, Galileo. I will simply arrest you and have you arrested for heresy and threatened with torture unless you recant."

Personally, though, I doubt that any life will be found on Europe. I may be wrong, of course. But the reason I doubt it is that life on Earth had an early evolution that required, at particular moments, conditions that might not have ever existed on Europa. Tidewater pools. Heat. Photochemically driven molecular selection. Now, there might be substitutes for those things that do exist (or have existed) on Europa, but I don't know what such might be. So I'm skeptical of the possibility of finding life on Europa.

Answer 6

Astronomers don't know yet. Considering that water is the basic requirement for life, there's a decent chance there is life. Even if it isn't fish, simple life such as single cell organisms would suffice as "alien" life. We may be getting answers sometime in 2015, assuming the mission doesn't get canceled.

Answer 7

Good question.

The answer is we do not know. Although it is my educated belief that besides earth Europa's deep oceans are the most likely place to find life in the solar system.

Answer 8

This is one of the current questions NASA is trying to get the answer to. They are planning to send a submersible probe to explore the depths. The temperatures there will be about the same as those found in the oceans at the north and south pole.

Currently, we don't know for sure if there is life. Its probably too cold for their to be fish, but hey, there could be some small fish swimming around there. Life seems to be a lot more adaptable than we seem to think. Until the last decade, we thought there was no life at all in the oceans in the artic regions. However, marine biologists have discovered these underwater structures that release hot water, warming the area towards the sea floor. This allows some algae planets to thrive down there. There are also some plankton, but no observed fish. There are fish that could probably survive in those temperatures, but they feed on the fish that can't survive there... and if their prey isn't there, why would they be there?

Life can be a plant too. It could be a micro organism.

NASA wants to get a probe there by 2020, and I think that we can make it. I do think there will be some life there. It might not be discovered because the probe won't last very long, and any life there is probably fairly rare. It might take multiple missions to find life.

Personally, I would rather see a probe land on Europa than on Mars... but that's just me.

NASA relies on public support a lot. With the economy the way it is, they will probably hold back the project until the economy gets better. NASA might team up with the ESA to design a probe and satellite to travel to Europa. It would take less time, and would be an international project.

Answer 9

Possibly!