Scientists are pretty sure Europa has the water, perhaps twice as much as the water in all of Earth’s oceans. Jupiter’s strong gravity field constantly tugs on Europa as it orbits its parent planet every three-and-a-half days, squeezing and flexing the moon’s insides, and generating heat through tidal forces. These forces could drive hydrothermal vents where the bottom of Europa’s ocean meets the moon’s rocky interior.
This is what separates Europa, Earth, and Saturn’s small moon Enceladus—which also has a buried ocean and erupting plumes—from every other object in the Solar System, according to Cynthia Phillips, planetary geologist and Europa Clipper project staff scientist at JPL.
“In these worlds,
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