קולוקוויום בחוג לגאופיזיקה: The Surface of Europa as a Window into its Interior: Predicting Longevity of Biomolecules and Interpreting Spectral Strucuture

Zoom: https://tau-ac-il.zoom.us/j/89059154709?pwd=u4Gphpi2sUOcLmQNlI9jPzVwblPdiX.1

Abstract:

Since the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the search for extraterrestrial life has moved from the speculative fringe to the forefront of scientific inquiry. Within the solar system, Jupiter's moon Europa stands out as a compelling candidate for habitability, owing to its subsurface ocean and active surface geology. While we cannot sample its ocean directly, an accessible, albeit partial, record of Europa’s interior composition is its surface. It was shown to be chemically diverse and spatially heterogeneous, shaped by both external and internal processes, such as irradiation and resurfacing. 

In this talk, I will present two studies that draw insight from Europa’s surface to inform estimates of its habitability. In the first, we model the thermal and radiative environment at Europa’s surface to estimate the longevity of potentially embedded organic molecules that may serve as biosignatures. We then show that, under favorable conditions, such molecules could be detected using laser-induced UV fluorescence spectroscopy, even from an orbiting spacecraft.

In the second, we develop and apply a data-driven spectral decomposition framework to JWST/NIRSpec-IFU observations of Europa. This analysis reveals spatial trends in—and relationships among—ice texture, volatile enrichment, and radiolytic chemistry. Constraining these processes is essential for disentangling internal and external contributions to surface composition.

Together, these studies offer a complementary view of Europa’s surface evolution and demonstrate a methodological advance for the next era of planetary exploration, with upcoming missions and observatories poised to probe the solar system’s astrobiological potential in unprecedented detail.

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מארגן האירוע: ד"ר אריאל ללוש