Jupiter Shields Europa from Cosmic Rays That Could Erase Evidence of Life

(Credit: Britney Schmidt/Dead Pixel VFX/Univ. of Texas at Austin)Europa, one of Jupiter’s four largest moons, has an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust. In the coming years, scientists hope to send probes to the world to study the chemistry of its ocean and look for possible signs of alien life. One challenge is figuring out whether radiation hitting Europa would tamper with potential chemical evidence of life. Luckily, it seems scientists won’t have to worry too much a