{"id":150094,"date":"2025-12-02T13:15:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T18:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094//?p=150094"},"modified":"2025-12-02T13:15:21","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T18:15:21","slug":"ucf-study-explores-formation-of-spider-like-features-on-jupiters-moon-europa-and-potential-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094//ucf-study-explores-formation-of-spider-like-features-on-jupiters-moon-europa-and-potential-for-life/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094//","title":{"rendered":"UCF Study Explores Formation of Spider-Like Features on Jupiter/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u2019s Moon Europa and Potential for Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Europa to other icy moons, scientists are studying how surface features form and what they might reveal about the potential for life./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/n

In a new study published in The Planetary Science Journal, researchers from UCF, NASA/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u2019s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and other institutions explored a unique, spider-like feature in Manann/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u00e1n Crater on Europa, one of Jupiter/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u2019s icy moons./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/n

First observed by NASA/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u2019s Galileo spacecraft, the feature may have formed from briny water eruptions beneath the ice, offering clues about subsurface liquid water and potential habitability on Europa./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/n

“Europa is a fascinating moon to study because its subsurface ocean may have the conditions to support life.” /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u2014 Lauren Mc Keown, assistant professor at UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u201cBy understanding surface expressions, we can learn more about processes and conditions where liquid water may exist below the surface,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u201d says Lauren Mc Keown, assistant professor at UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u2019s Department of Physics./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/n

Using Earth/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u2019s lake stars as analogs, combined with field observations, lab experiments and modeling, the researchers hope to gain valuable insights into how these icy features form, which could have implications for future missions that might land on Europa and other icy airless worlds./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/n

Originally from Ireland, Mc Keown/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/u2019s interest in space began as a teenager when she first learned about the Cassini spacecraft, which explored Enceladus, a small icy moon of Saturn./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/150094/n