That’s set to update our knowledge of the moon significantly. On a recent flyby, Juno got within 80,000 km of the so-called “pizza moon,” and a future pass will get as close as 1,500 km. New data collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft suggests that despite this rugged, unhospitable exterior, Io could still host living things. Io, in comparison, is a hot and volcanic place. Io’s volcanic eruptions can be huge in scale, as seen by Galileo in 1997. It too plays host to subsurface oceans which could theoretically host life. Saturn’s moon Enceladus has also been considered a strong contender, for a plume of methane erupting from its surface. Given that we know life and water are so closely intertwined here on Earth, that has guided our search elsewhere. That’s largely down to the fact that those moons play host to subsurface oceans. Other moons of Jupiter, like Europa and Ganymede, have been considered far more likely candidates. When it comes to places to search for life, Io hasn’t really been at the top of the list. ![]() Let’s take a look at what makes Io special, and what we might hope to find there. ![]() The latest candidate for hosting nearby life is Jupiter’s moon, Io. Or perhaps more likely, look at under a microscope. That left scientists the world over to start looking elsewhere for new lifeforms for us to talk to, conquer, or play bridge with. ![]() Since then, we’ve concluded there isn’t, much to everyone’s disappointment. It was many years ago now when David Bowie asked if there was life on Mars.
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