Many tend to think that the Earth is the only planet in the Solar system, has an enormous water reserves. However, compared to some other places in the Solar system, our home world is a real wilderness, as from the point of view of the total volume of water and amount of liquid on the Ground relative to the size of the planet.
Take the icy Jupiter’s moon Europe, which is smaller than our moon. More recently, scientists have analyzed old 20-year-old data from one of the space probes “Voyager” and found even more evidence in favor of the fact that the water reserves of Europe are twice those on our home planet. There is a strong suspicion that even tiny Pluto has a subsurface ocean, in terms comparable to our earth.
Steve Vance, planetary scientists from the jet propulsion Laboratory of NASA, for many years engaged in the research worlds that may hide under the surface of the water. He brought the average thicknesses of the ice crusts the surface of the worlds of the Solar system and the depth of their oceans, and also calculated how much water may be available at these sites.
The infographic below shows the data obtained by Vance, as well as information from other sources, indicate the likely volume of water from the nine known “water worlds,” including our Land.
The amount of water on the chart is reflected in settelite, a unit equal to 1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 liters, or 1 billion cubic kilometers.
According to the National oceanic and atmospheric administration, Earth has only about 1,3335 sattelite.
Based on the volume of water which is available to the worlds of the Solar system (from smaller to greater supply), the list is as follows: Enceladus (moon of Saturn), Triton (satellite of Neptune), dione (Saturn’s moon), Pluto (dwarf planet), Earth, Europa (satellite of Jupiter), Callisto (satellite of Jupiter), Titan (moon of Saturn) and Ganymede (satellite of Jupiter).
Ganymede is the largest satellite of the gas giant of Jupiter and the water world in the Solar system for another reason: 69 percent of the total volume of the satellite can take liquid water, which is significantly more than any other cosmic body from the list above.
According to scientists, Mimas, satellite of Saturn and Ceres, the largest asteroid in the Solar system may have oceans of water. However, researchers are not sure how big the oceans. In order to surely confirm or deny this opinion, you will need to spend more than one space mission.
At the moment, the space Agency NASA is planning a Europa Clipper mission to Europe. Within it, scientists want to create a very accurate map of the icy moon. The researchers expect that the mission will begin sometime between 2022 and 2025.
Scientists believe that the probe will be able to conduct more accurate calculations of the size of Europa’s ocean, and also “taste and smell” the particles of water geysers spewing from the moon’s surface.
The European space Agency is planning a similar mission called Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer. Its launch is to be held in 2022. To reach Jupiter, the spacecraft will have in 2030.
In the framework of this mission is planned to hold two fly-Europe. Then the spacecraft for 8 months is orbit around Ganymede, collecting science data and sending them to the Ground.
Who knows, maybe one of these probes will detect the first irrefutable proof of the existence of life in the hundreds of millions of kilometers from Earth.
The earth has not the biggest supply of water in the Solar system
Nikolai Khizhnyak