Click for next articleThis view of Jupiter's icy moon Europa was captured by JunoCam, the public engagement camera aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. NASA's Europa Clipper is currently on a 1.8-billion-mile journey to Jupiter, tasked with assessing whether the icy moon of its namesake, Europa, could support life. A new study, however, suggests any shallow water the Europa Clipper detects may not necessarily be a direct window into Europa 's ocean after all. Such reservoirs, if fed directly by the ocean, would be significantly easier for passing spacecraft to detect and analyze than an ocean buried miles below. An artist's illustration of Europa Clipper spacecraft flying above Jupiter's icy moon Europa.