Thursday, February 26, 2026

Europa and Other Jovian Moons May Have Formed With Their Own Supply of Life's Building Blocks

This graphic shows how complex organic molecules could've formed in the Solar System's protoplanetary disk. UV radiation drives their formation, and the molecules then migrated through the disk. New research shows that the same thing happened in Jupiter's circumplanetary disk, and that as the Galilean moons formed, they formed with some of life's molecular building blocks. Image Credit: SwRI

Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) are important building blocks for life. They can form in space and be delivered to planets. But new research shows some of them can form in circumplanetary disks where moons form, boosting the prospects for life in Europa's ocean.



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