← World catalog MOON / 02
Europa
Jupiter
An ice-covered moon with strong evidence for a global salty ocean and ongoing tidal energy.
BEvidence classStrong inference from multiple independent measurements
- Mean radius
- 1,560.8 km
- Surface gravity
- 1.315 m/s²
- Representative temperature
- about −160 °C surface
- Surface pressure
- Extremely tenuous O₂ atmosphere
Scientific assessment
Magnetic induction, surface geology, and gravity constraints jointly support a subsurface ocean beneath an ice shell.
- Liquid-water evidence
- Global subsurface ocean, strong geophysical inference
- Principal constraint
- Radiation and uncertain ice thickness
- Principal mission context
- NASA Europa Clipper; ESA JUICE context
Comparative evidence matrix
A transparent research-priority index, not a probability of life. It combines solvent evidence, usable energy, chemistry, environmental stability, evidence maturity, and sampling access.