As preparations to launch Europe’s first MetOp Second Generation, MetOp-SG-A1 satellite continue on track, the team at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, has bid a heartfelt farewell to this precious satellite as it was sealed from view within the Ariane 6 rocket’s fairing.
What do extreme icy moons in the Solar System and unruly water behavior have to do with each other? That's what scientists at University of Sheffield in England wanted to know. So, they simulated conditions at Europa and Enceladus in the lab. Europa orbits Jupiter and Enceladus circles Saturn. Both have frozen surfaces and internal oceans of salty water. That water plays a huge role in resurfacing and reshaping these icy moons. That process is called cryovolcanism and it shows that water behaves much differently "out there" than it does here on Earth, where it freezes below 0 C and boils above 100 C.
