Icy moons, widespread across our solar system, are celestial bodies defined by substantial water ice, often harboring vast subsurface oceans. Worlds like Europa...
Icy moons are natural satellites with significant amounts of water ice, often forming a thick crust over a liquid subsurface ocean, making them prime targets in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Europa (Jupiter) and Enceladus (Saturn) are prime candidates due to strong evidence of subsurface oceans, potential hydrothermal activity, and organic molecules.
Scientists use orbiting spacecraft, flybys, and probes equipped with radar, spectrometers, and magnetometers to map surfaces, detect subsurface features, and analyze ejected plumes.
These oceans are primarily kept liquid by tidal forces from their host planets, which generate heat through the flexing of the moon's interior, and sometimes by radioactive decay.
Potentially. Their subsurface oceans are believed to contain water, energy sources (like hydrothermal vents), and essential chemical building blocks, providing conditions favorable for life as we know it.