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Scientists have estimated the icy crust of Jupiter’s moon Europa to be at least 20 km thick by simulating the formation of its multi-ring impact structures.
The researchers modelled various sizes of impacts on Europa, with different ice shell thicknesses and thermal gradients.
From these simulations, they found that impacts caused graben-like features to form only when the ice shell was at least 20 km thick.
The findings could inform future space missions that will investigate the habitability of Europa.
Europa
Europa is one of the most fascinating moons in our solar system.
It's the fourth-largest moon orbiting Jupiter, and the sixth-largest moon overall.
It was discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610, along with the other three large moons of Jupiter known as the Galilean moons.
Europa is a bit smaller than Earth's moon, but it is still a very large moon, with a diameter of about 1,940 miles (3,100 kilometers).
Its surface is made of water ice, which gives it a very bright and reflective appearance.
In fact, Europa reflects more sunlight than any other object in the solar system except for Io, another moon of Jupiter.
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