Can there be Life in the Environment of Io?



This is an image of the surface of Io.
Click on image for full size version (80K JPG)
Image from: NASA
In spite of the fact that Io has an atmosphere, the environment of Io seems pretty unfriendly toward life as we know it on earth.

Io is very small, so there is not much gravity. For this reason, the atmosphere of Io is constantly drifting away. If it were not for the volcanic eruptions, there would be no atmosphere at all.

Io is inside the enormously powerful magnetosphere of Jupiter. With very little atmosphere, there is little protection from the radiation of the charged particles of the magnetosphere.

With little atmosphere, there is no buffer between the surface and space itself. This means that the temperature above the surface is very cold. On the other hand, with all the volcanic activity, the surface of Io is frequently molten, therefore the surface itself is sometimes super-hot!

All together these things add up to a very hostile environment for life as we know it.



Can there be Life in the Environment of Io?



This is an image of the surface of Io.
Click on image for full size version (80K JPG)
Image from: NASA
In spite of the fact that Io has an atmosphere, the environment of Io seems pretty unfriendly toward life as we know it on earth.

Io is very small, so there is not much gravity. For this reason, the atmosphere of Io is constantly drifting away. If it were not for the volcanic eruptions, there would be no atmosphere at all.

Io is inside the enormously powerful magnetosphere of Jupiter. With very little atmosphere, there is little protection from the radiation of the charged particles of the magnetosphere.

With little atmosphere, there is hardly a buffer between the surface and space itself. This means that the temperature above the surface is very cold. On the other hand, with all the volcanos, the surface of Io is frequently molten, therefore the surface itself is sometimes super-hot!

All together these things add up to a very hostile environment for life as we know it.



Can there be Life in the Environment of Io?



This is an image of the surface of Io.
Click on image for full size version (80K JPG)
Image from: NASA
The moon Io is one of the only ones that has an atmosphere. But the environment of Io stills seems pretty unfriendly toward life as we know it on earth.

Io is very small, so there is not much gravity. For this reason, the air which comes out of Io's volcanos always drifts away. When the volcano's stop erupting, Io has no more atmosphere.

With little atmosphere, there is nothing between the surface of Io and space itself. This means that the temperature above the surface is very cold. On the other hand, when lava comes out of the volcanos, the surface of Io is sometimes super-hot!

All together these things add up to a very unfriendly environment for life as we know it on earth.




Last modified August 30, 1996 by the Windows Team

The source of this material is Windows to the Universe, at http://www.windows.ucar.edu/ at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). © The Regents of the University of Michigan. Windows to the Universe® is a registered trademark of UCAR. All Rights Reserved. Site policies and disclaimer