GALILEO PROBE

The Europa satellite is covered by an ice floe in evolution: therefore there is little evidence of impact craters on the surface of Europa.

Opposite and at the top, a view of Europa 120 km wide taken from a distance of 12000 km from the surface. Here we see an impact crater (the crater Pwyll) 25 km in diameter. The darker material comes from the interior of Europa.

Opposite and at the bottom, a view of Europa ice floe with another impact crater. We distinguish here between faults in the ice, sheets of size about 30 km. The evolution of these plates suggests that they are placed on a more fluid material, may be a liquid water ocean.