Aliens ‘cannot reside on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa’ as they ‘want warmth to outlive’

On Jan 7, 2026

Aliens need to live in warm temperatures, scientists have claimed. That is why they have poured cold water on the chances of us finding little green men on Europa, an icy moon in orbit around Jupiter.

But US researchers are still confident that “there is life out there somewhere” elsewhere in the universe. Two space probes are on their way to Europa to look for signs of habitability or even alien life.

Nasa’s Europa Clipper spacecraft launched in 2024 and is expected to reach it first, flying by the moon in 2031. The European Space Agency sent their probe a year earlier but it is due to perform a flyby of Europa in 2032.

Artist's conception of Jupiter and one of its moons, Io, seen from 10 kilometres above the frozen surface of Europa — Artist’s conception of Jupiter and one of its moons, Io, seen from 10 kilometres above the frozen surface of Europa
(Image: Getty Images/Stocktrek Images)

It is understood to have a thin crust of ice on its surface with a deep ocean underneath containing more water than all the seas and oceans on Earth combined. In theory this makes it one of the likeliest spots in the solar system beyond Earth to host extra-terrestrial life, but a new study has suggested the search will be in vain.

For life to exist in the freezing conditions, Europa would need to have some source of internal heat through volcanic or tectonic activity.

n illustration depicts NASA's Juno spacecraft in orbit above Jupiter — NASA’s Juno spacecraft in orbit above Jupiter
(Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SWNS)

But a paper published in the journal Nature Communications has cast doubt on whether this is possible. A team from Washington University in St Louis in the United States examined the moon for any signs of tectonic activity similar to that seen on others in the solar system, with active volcanoes visible on Io, another of Jupiter’s moons.

Professor Paul Byrne said: “Europa likely has some tidal heating, which is why it’s not completely frozen and it may have had a lot more heating in the distant past. But we don’t see any volcanoes shooting out of the ice today like we see on Io, and our calculations suggest that the tides aren’t strong enough to drive any sort of significant geologic activity at the seafloor.

The researchers are excited by the mission
(Image: Getty Images)

“Geologically, there’s not a lot happening down there. Everything would be quiet. The energy just doesn’t seem to be there to support life, at least today.”

But Prof Byrne said that he is still excited by missions such as Europa Clipper which will be able to take precise measurements of the ice cap and estimate the size and depth of the oceans beneath.

He added: “I’m not upset if we don’t find life on this particular moon. I’m confident that there is life out there somewhere – even if it’s 100 light-years away.”

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