Europa has a pale, geologically young surface striated by light tan cracks and streaks; the surface lacks large-scale features such as mountains or craters, making the moon the smoothest …

Images from the two Voyagers revealed a surface brighter than that of Earth's moon, crisscrossed with numerous bands and ridges, and with a surprising lack of large impact craters, tall cliffs, …

Dec 15, 2025 · Europa has far fewer impact craters than most other objects in the solar system—evidence that its surface is relatively young. The surface is crisscrossed by an …

Dec 17, 2025 · Microwave observations of Jupiter’s moon Europa reveal subsurface properties of the ice shell covering a purported global ocean. The shell is 29 ± 10 km thick, with fractures or …

Mar 8, 2024 · A range of science investigations indicate that it contains the key ingredients for habitability, notably energy, chemistry, and liquid water. Europa’s surface is geologically …

Mar 21, 2024 · It has a fairly young surface—somewhere between 50 and 100 million years old. That's practically "new" when you compare it to the age of the Solar System. And, Europa's icy …

6 days ago · The liquid ocean on Jupiter’s moon Europa appears to be completely sealed off from the planet’s surface, which may reduce the chances of finding life there

May 30, 2025 · Scientists have long speculated that Europa's surface is covered by a very thin veneer of amorphous ice—only around a fiftieth of an inch thick—which shields crystalline ice …

3 days ago · The Europa spider differs from the ones on Mars in that the Martian ones form when carbon dioxide gas escapes from underground. The gas then erodes the dust and sand on the …

It has the smoothest surface of any body in the solar system and has a thin oxygen atmosphere. Europa, along with Callisto, Ganymede, and Io, were discovered by the Italian astronomer …