Photos: Europa, Mysterious Icy Moon of Jupiter

'Remastered' View of Europa, Jupiter's Moon

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute

Europa, Jupiter's icy moon, has long taunted scientists with its signs of a subsurface ocean of water and perplexing cracks on the surface. The spectacular image shown here is the best view yet of the icy Jovian moon. Released in November 2014, this Europa photo is a remastered image based on data from NASA's Galileo mission to Jupiter in the 1990s. Read the Full Story.

See stunning images of Europa from NASA spacecraft here.

Natural Color Image of Europa

NASA

Natural color image of Jupiter's moon Europa.

Inside Jupiter's Watery Moon, Europa (Infographic)

by Karl Tate, Infographics Artist

Scientists are eager to learn if Europa's huge subsurface ocean harbors alien life. See how Jupiter's icy moon Europa works in this SPACE.com infographic.

Water Geysers on Europa

K. Retherford, Southwest Research Institute

An artist's illustration of Jupiter's icy moon Europa, with a water geyser erupting in the foreground while Jupiter appears as a backdrop. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope suggest Europa may have water plumes like Saturn's moon Enceladus. Image released Dec. 12, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

Europa Rising

NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute

The icy moon Europa rising above Jupiter’s cloud tops. The picture was one of a handful of the Jupiter system that New Horizons took primarily for artistic, rather than scientific, value.

Europa South Polar Water Plume

Lorenz Roth, Southwest Research Institute/USGS

A south polar water vapor plume on Europa is shown in blue in this Hubble Space Telescope data image, which is superimposed on a visible light image of the Jupiter moon's leading hemisphere. Image released Dec. 12, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

Jupiter and Europa with Water Vapor Plumes

Lorenz Roth, Southwest Research Institute/USGS

This image shows Jupiter and its icy moon Europa, with the moon's bright ultraviolet light signal from south polar water vapor plumes shown in blue. Image released Dec. 12, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

Europa Cross-Sectional Illustration

NASA-JPL

Jupiter’s moon Europa contains an ocean of liquid water beneath its frozen surface.

Water Plume on Europa: Leading Hemisphere

Lorenz Roth, Southwest Research Institute / USGS

This Hubble Space Telescope data image shows the water vapor plume (blue) over the leading hemisphere of Europa superimposed on a visible light image of the icy Jupiter moon. Image released Dec. 12, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

Galileo's Europa

NASA/Ted Stryk

Above, Europa, as viewed from NASA's Galileo spacecraft. Visible are plains of bright ice, cracks that run to the horizon, and dark patches that likely contain both ice and dirt.

Living On Europa Would Be Tough, But Some Life May Already Be There (Infographic)

By Karl Tate, Infographics Artist

Scientists believe conditions may be right for life, under Europa's icy crust. See what it might be like for an astronaut exploring Europa.

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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.