NASA finds wall demon on Europa: the key to life below the surface.

According to ТСН: On the icy surface of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, NASA scientists have discovered a unique structure that indicates active processes in the subsurface ocean. This object, known as the 'wall demon', proves that finding life on this moon may be easier than previously thought.

The Mystery of the Mannannan Crater

Researchers became interested in an unusual star-shaped pattern located inside the 20-kilometer Mannannan crater. The object, nearly 3 kilometers in diameter, is named Damhán Alla, which in Gaelic means 'spider' or 'wall demon'.

This object, first spotted in images from the Galileo spacecraft back in the 1990s, received a scientific explanation only recently. Studies have shown that this is not just cracks but a frozen imprint of salty water that once burst to the surface.

The Earthly 'Lake Stars' Analogue

Research led by Lauren McKeown found that the 'wall demon' is a cosmic analogue of Earth's 'lake stars'. On Earth, such patterns form on frozen waters when water seeps through holes in the ice, melts, and then freezes together with snow.

On Europa, this process may have been triggered by a meteorite impact that heated part of the icy crust, causing salty water from below to rise.

'Such surface features can tell us a lot about what is happening beneath the ice,' explains McKeown. 'If the Europa Clipper mission finds more such structures, they will point to specific locations with liquid brine just below the surface.'

Why Is This Important for Searching for 'Aliens'?

This discovery makes Europa a leading candidate for a potential home for extraterrestrial life alongside Saturn's moon Enceladus for several reasons:

1. Microbial Accessibility: if the water from the ocean can rise to the surface, scientists won't need to drill kilometers of ice—signs of life could be found during simple surface scanning.

2. Vast Water Resources: it is believed that there is twice as much water beneath Europa's icy shell than all the oceans of Earth combined.

3. Energy Source: Jupiter's gravity creates strong tidal forces that heat the moon's interior, preventing the ocean from completely freezing.

Laboratory Confirmation

To confirm their theory, scientists recreated Europa's conditions in a barochamber with liquid nitrogen at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The results showed that the 'spider' on Europa emerged from a pocket of salty water located about 6 kilometers beneath the ice.

Now, all hopes rest on the upcoming Europa Clipper mission, which aims to confirm the presence of chemical elements necessary for life: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and salts.

Scientists believe that the existence of life in Europa's subsurface ocean requires deeper exploration of this moon, opening new horizons for astrobiology.