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Europa’s proposed ocean could be rich in oxygen

Calculations bode well for possibility of life on Jupiter’s moon

By Ron Cowen

- More than 2 years ago

FAJARDO, Puerto Rico — If there are any fish on Jupiter’s moon Europa, they can breathe easy.

HIDDEN OXYGEN A new study suggests that if Jupiter’s moon Europa (shown in this snapshot taken by the Galileo spacecraft) has an ocean buried below its icy surface, the ocean receives about 100 times more oxygen than previously calculated.