WEBVTT	#Elemental Media Engine(TM) 2.17.1.0

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- Jupiter has three
moons with oceans

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underneath their icy shells.

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They're called Ganymede,
Callisto, and Europa.

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Earthlings have been
curious about these moons

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and their potential to
house life for a long time.

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NASA first sent probes in part
to get a closer look in 1977.

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Jupiter is a gas giant.

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That means it doesn't
have a surface.

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It's a swirl of gases that
condense into a smoldering

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ocean of hydrogen at its core.

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It's very similar to
our sun in this way.

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But unlike the sun, it doesn't
fuse hydrogen atoms into helium

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to create energy and heat.

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Now, back to those
first NASA probes.

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They observed long lines and
dark spots on the moon Europa.

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Typically, moons have
cratered surfaces.

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But these images
tipped scientists

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off that there might be an ocean
beneath Europa's icy exterior.

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In 1996, that theory was
confirmed when the Galileo

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spacecraft reached Europa.

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It was the first ocean
discovered on another planet.

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Then in 2012 and 2016,
the Hubble Space Telescope

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showed water plumes erupting
from the warmest parts

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of Europa.

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Scientists don't know
much about the plumes.

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But if Europa has water
and elements like carbon

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and hydrogen, it could mean
that microbial life once formed

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there or even still exists.

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Armed with that possibility, the
European Space Agency and NASA

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are sending probes deep
into our solar system

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to look specifically
at Jupiter's icy moons.

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First is the Jupiter Icy
Moons Explorer, or Juice,

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from the ESA.

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Juice is traveling to
the Jupiter system armed

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with the latest technology
to take photos, observe

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the magnetic field
of Jupiter, and take

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readings of what is
beneath the icy crusts

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of Jupiter's large moons.

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Later, NASA will send
the Europa Clipper

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to fly by its namesake over 40
times to sniff its atmosphere.

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It will gather material from
the plumes for the first time.

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And that will give scientists
a better idea if Europa's

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oceans could support life.

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The missions will gather data.

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They will also aim
to gather insights

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into fundamental questions
about our universe.

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Is there life beyond Earth?

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What might that look like?

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And what does that mean
for the future of humanity?