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Is there tectonics on that moon ? Isn't it too small for that ? The same goes for Europa... Is there real tectonics there ? If there is no tectonics in place a

Is there tectonics on that moon ? Isn't it too small for that ? The same goes for Europa... Is there real tectonics there ? If there is no tectonics in place and you have a "closed" big bucket of water constantly filled up with chemicals from hydrothermal vents during billions of years, wouldn't the water become completely soaked and kind of slimy ? Not the best place for life, even for extremophiles... I also found an interesting article on the probable high acidity of Europa ocean, that would make it not suitable for harboring life : http://www.space.com/14757-europa-moon-ocean-acidic.html http://www.space.com/14757-europa-moon-ocean-acidic.html I guess it could also apply to Enceladus ocean. Can someone elaborate on that ? P.S.: English is not my native language, sorry for any grammatical incoherence :)

Symmetry 9y ago
The lack of techtonics on the Moon is a consequence of the Moon having cooled down throughout so it doesn't have a molten core anymore. With Europa we can actually observe plate techtonics in the continent sized ice sheets covering its surface and due to the evidence of activity we can infer that there must still be enough heat generated inside to keep things moving. Either the decay of radioisotopes inside or tidal flexing causing heat. Regarding acidity, life has to have some source of energy to get going and that's probably going to have to be a source of reactive chemicals.