Nasa spots evidence of water plumes on Jupiter's moon Europa

Jupiter's moon Europa may be expelling water plumes from under its icy shell, according to Nasa.

Tantalising evidence of what appeared to be spouting water vapour was spotted by scientists using ultraviolet light to observe the moon in silhouette, thanks to its planet serving as a bright light from behind.

"If plumes exist, this is an exciting find," said lead researcher William Sparks.

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The discovery would make it easier for scientists to test samples of water for signs of life without drilling through miles of ice, he added.

If the moon does turn out to have water, energy and organic chemicals, it "could have the basic building blocks that developed into life on Earth", says The Guardian.

"For a long time humanity has been wondering whether there is life beyond Earth," said Nasa astrophysicist Paul Hertz. "We're lucky enough to live in an era where we can address questions like that scientifically.

"We have a special interest in any place that might possess those characteristics. Europa might be such a place."

However, scientist Jennifer Wiseman has downplayed the chances we could be about to find direct evidence of life with a flyby mission.

"The jury's out," she said. "It first depends on whether the plumes are really there."

Scientists' endeavours to gather clues of an ocean beneath Europa's icy shell started some decades ago. In 1979, Voyager spacecraft showed the ice was cracked in some places while in the 1990s, the Galileo mission, which spent eight years orbiting Jupiter, confirmed there was an ocean under the moon.