Clues hint at possible Jupiter moon life

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MADRID, May 30 (UPI) -- Scientists say a frozen landscape in Canada similar to that on one of Jupiter's moons offers clues for upcoming missions to search for traces of life on Europa.

It is not easy to find a place on Earth where ice and sulphur are found together, as is suspected on Jupiter's moon Europa, but such a place has been found at Borup Fjord Pass in the Canadian High Arctic, researchers say.

Sulphurous yellow emissions associated with arctic bacteria contrast with the whiteness of the environment at the pass, creating images similar to those captured of Jupiter's satellite.

The sulphur involved in the life cycle of Arctic microorganisms has some characteristics that could help detect biological remains on Europa, researchers said.

"We have discovered that elemental sulphur (S) can contain morphological, mineralogical and organic 'biosignatures' linked to bacterial activity," Damhnait Gleeson of the Centro de Astrobiologia in Spain said.

"If they are found on Europa, this would suggest the possible presence of microorganisms," he said in a release from the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology.

"There is much evidence of bacterial activity," Gleeson said of the Canadian site.

In Europa's icy crust, or the ocean or lakes supposedly beneath it, there could be similar microbial communities that use sulphur as their source of energy, he said.