LIFE ON A ... JUPITER MOON? : ICY EUROPA HINTS AT VAST OCEAN.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

If a picture is worth a thousand words, the latest snapshots of Jupiter's frozen moon Europa speak volumes about the possibility of life on this icy body as wide as the United States.

Beamed back by the Galileo spacecraft, the images revealed Wednesday give what scientists say is further proof that this Jovian moon likely holds an ocean containing more water than all of the oceans on Earth.

As on Earth, liquid water on Europa would be a basic building block for life.

``I am sure there is life there,'' said oceanographer John Delaney, during a news conference at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Other scientists were more cautious about the existence of life on the Jovian moon, but they all gushed about new images that Galileo captured Feb. 20, when it swung within just 363 miles of Europa, its closest flyby.

Much of Europa's surface appears to be covered with iceberg-like frozen blocks that are in constant motion, which leads scientists to suspect that below the surface is liquid water being warmed by volcanic activity. That heated water could sustain what they called a ``planetary nursery'' environment.

Delaney said the study of volcanoes on Earth has revealed that underwater eruptions can create massive amounts of bacteria and other primitive life - a phenomenon that could be occurring on Europa.

``You have all the ingredients that you have on the (Earth's) sea floor, where clearly volcanic activity supports life without sunlight,'' said the University of Washington scientist.

As the first life on Earth is believed to have begun in a sort of protein soup, scientists say they are looking for evidence that a similar condition exists on Europa.

``The water is probably bouillon, but we don't know if it is chicken soup yet,'' said Richard Terrile, a planetary astronomer at Pasadena-based JPL.

These lunar detectives say the latest pictures reveal better that the ice blocks - some miles long - have been moving and cracking on Europa, suggesting that they are floating atop an ocean perhaps as close as half a mile from the icy surface.

``It looks like we have found the smoking gun,'' said Michael Carr, a geologist with the United States Geological Survey, of the possibility of a sub-surface ocean.

The shots of Europa also suggest that the Jovian moon may be much younger than previously thought as pictures show it has about 100 times fewer craters than expected.

Created mainly by bombarding meteorites and comets, the craters are used by scientists to date a celestial body as those with more cosmic pockmarks are believed to be older than those with fewer of the scars.

Clark Chapman, a planetary scientist with the Southwest Research Institute, said Europa's surface may be less than 1 million years old, although others believe it may be actually hundreds of millions of years old. In contrast, our solar system is believed to be more than 4-1/2 billion years old.

Galileo will make its last Europa flyby Nov. 6, but scientists said Wednesday that the latest images bolster the need for further exploration, including using radar to measure the thickness of the ice layer.

Scientists from around the world are gathering this week in a meeting organized by JPL to discuss development of a robot that could melt through ice and search for signs of life in water.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) With a painting of Jupiter and the Galileo spacecraft as a backdrop Wednesday, scientists at JPL in Pasadena discuss the possibility of life in water beneath the icy surface of the moon Europa.

(2) The surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, as seen by the Galileo probe, shows ridges believed to be caused by gigantic moving blocks of ice, which indicates a vast ocean of flowing water beneath.

Associated Press