Image 3-19
Europa's Ice Crust

This close-up image of Jupiter's moon Europa was taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft. The image has been processed with false colors to enhance the visibility of surface features. It was created as a composite from three separate images. The many lines that cross the surface are cracks in the ice, possibly caused by the movement of liquid water beneath the ice. The brown colors indicate rocky contaminates in the ice. These contaminants may consist of rocky material that has been uplifted from beneath the ice. It is believed that an ocean of liquid water exists under this icy crust.