Descripción del proyecto
Búsqueda de agua líquida bajo la superficie de las lunas del sistema solar
La presencia de agua líquida es uno de los pocos prerrequisitos fundamentales de la vida; por lo menos como la conocemos en la Tierra. Puede que vastas masas de agua yazcan bajo la corteza helada de las lunas de nuestro sistema solar. Mediante la combinación de simulaciones por ordenador y observaciones con telescopios nuevos, el proyecto financiado con fondos europeos Exo-Oceans planea buscar océanos en las lunas de Saturno (Titán y Encélado) y también fuera de nuestro sistema solar. El trabajo de investigación permitirá realizar análisis pormenorizados de los océanos presentes en las lunas de Júpiter (Europa y Ganimedes). Aunque ya se sabe que existe agua en las dos lunas, los métodos utilizados hasta ahora no lograron caracterizar estos océanos ocultos. Los resultados del proyecto servirán como base fundamental para el estudio de océanos y vida extraterrestres.
Objetivo
The existence of liquid water is one of the few preconditions for life as we know it. Therefore, the search and characterization of liquid water outside of Earth plays an essential role in the search for extraterrestrial life. Prominent candidates to host liquid water are moons in the outer solar system, which can maintain oceans under their icy surfaces. The currently most effective way to identify such subsurface oceans is through effects of their salinity and thus electrical conductivity. The conductivity modifies the magnetic field around these moons through a process referred to as electromagnetic induction. Spacecraft measurements of associated magnetic field perturbations provided evidence for oceans within Jupiter’s moon Europa and Ganymede. Current analysis tools however reached an impasse. No scientific techniques are available, which provide quantitative estimates and uncertainties of key ocean properties when the effects of the dense magnetized plasmas around the moons are included. Here we propose entirely new approaches, which overcome these issues. Our novel techniques will include a simultaneous treatment of the physics in all internal and external conductive layers and will for the first time use all available observations including auroral emission to go beyond considering magnetic fields only. EXO-OCEANS will systematically characterize the ocean properties on Europa and Ganymede including the ocean candidate Callisto. Characterizing the oceans on Ganymede, Europa and Callisto are at the heart of ESA’s Juice and NASA’s Europa Clipper missions. For Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus where currently existing techniques do not work, we will invent a new detection technique. In parallel we will use the Hubble Space Telescope to search and characterize aurora in extrasolar planetary systems to pave the way for ocean detections beyond the solar system.
Ámbito científico
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringastronautical engineeringspacecraft
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyobservational astronomyoptical astronomy
- natural sciencesphysical scienceselectromagnetism and electronics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyplanetary sciencesnatural satellites
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
50931 Koln
Alemania