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Europa is one of the largest of Jupiter's moons, and is of significant interest in the aerospace context because of its potential to harbor subsurface oceans and the possibility of having life.
Europa is a cold, icy body with a surface temperature of about -170C. Its surface is covered in a layer of water ice and it has a very thin atmosphere composed of oxygen. Europa's surface is also characterized by a complex geology with a number of features such as ice plumes, ridges, and chaotic terrain, which are believed to be formed by the subsurface ocean.
In the aerospace context, Europa has been explored by several spacecraft missions, including the Galileo spacecraft, which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 2003, and provided the first detailed images of Europa's surface and data on its geology and geophysics. More recently, NASA's Europa Clipper mission is under development, which is set to launch in the 2020s, the mission is designed to explore Europa's potential habitability and study its geology, oceanography, and the potential for life.
Europa's subsurface ocean and potential for life make it a prime target for future missions. The ocean is thought to be in contact with the rocky seafloor, and could contain more water than all of Earth's oceans combined. The ocean is also thought to be in contact with the rocky seafloor, and could contain more water than all of Earth's oceans combined. The presence of water and organic compounds, as well as the energy sources, make Europa an attractive target in the search for extraterrestrial life.
In summary, Europa is a Jovian moon that has a subsurface ocean and a potential for life, it has been explored by several spacecraft missions and is considered as a prime target for future missions to explore its geology, oceanography and the potential for life.