Environmental Science Institute

Do you ever wonder about the possibility of life on other planets? Evidence of a shallow lake of liquid water on Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, suggests the potential for life may exist within our solar system. Dr. Britney Schmidt studies these structures, one of which has a similar volume to the North American Great Lakes. These icy areas may have physical mechanisms that permit the exchange of nutrients and energy between the planet's surface, and a large ocean inferred to lie beneath the ice shell. Dr. Schmidt takes us on a journey that examines some essential environmental conditions necessary to support life, and how these conditions may arise on other planets.