With liquid water underneath its icy surface, Jupiter’s moon Europa is often cited as a potential site for extraterrestrial life. What other compounds would indicate that chemosynthesis supports life on the planet?(1 point)

Question

With liquid water underneath its icy surface, Jupiter’s moon Europa is often cited as a potential site for extraterrestrial life. What other compounds would indicate that chemosynthesis supports life on the planet?(1 point)
Responses

hydrogen peroxide
hydrogen peroxide

methane
methane

oxygen
oxygen

glucose

GPT-4o mini · Answer

For chemosynthesis to support life on Europa, compounds that could indicate potential metabolic processes would typically include hydrogen peroxide and methane. However, among the options provided, oxygen is often a significant indicator of life as it can be a byproduct of photosynthesis or respiration in aerobic organisms.

Given the context of Europa and its subsurface ocean, if you are looking for what would most directly indicate that chemosynthesis is occurring, methane would be relevant because it can be produced by methanogenic organisms via chemosynthetic processes.

In summary, while all of the suggested compounds could be relevant in different contexts, methane is a key compound that might suggest biological processes related to chemosynthesis.