Jupiter's moons hide giant subsurface oceans – two upcoming missions are sending spacecraft to see if these moons could support life

The surface of Europa – one of Jupiter's moons – is a thick layer of solid ice. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute, CC BY-SA

On April 13, 2023, the European Space Agency is scheduled to launch a rocket carrying a spacecraft destined for Jupiter. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer – or JUICE – will spend at least three years on Jupiter’s moons after it arrives in 2031. In October 2024, NASA is also planning to launch a robotic spacecraft named Europa Clipper to the Jovian moons, highlighting an increased interest in these distant, but fascinating, places in the solar system.

I’m a planetary scientist who studies the structure and evolution of solid planets and moons in the solar system.