ATTEMPT NO LANDINGS THERE: Shifting ice on Jupiter’s moon could probe its interior.

Tremors on Earth have helped scientists probe the interior of the planet, and shakeups on icy moons could do the same. By simulating icequakes on Jupiter’s icy moons Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede, as well as Saturn’s frozen satellite Enceladus, researchers have concluded that each world would have its own unique sound signature. Including an instrument to track the trembling crust on each world on future missions could reveal insights about the habitability of the icy layers beneath the surface.

“It’s doubtful that it’s completely quiet on Europa,” said Steve Vance, a geophysicist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Vance presented the results of how seismic investigations can shed light on the interior of icy worlds at the Astrobiology Science Conference in Mesa, Arizona, in April.

A global ocean is thought to lie beneath Europa’s icy crust. As Jupiter tugs on the moon with its enormous mass, it pulls and stretches the world enough to melt the ice that would otherwise remain solid.

Many of us have been waiting to see under Europa’s crust for 35 years already.