Scientists have discovered a new phase of the ice sheet that is not found anywhere else on Earth. When the Europa Clipper mission reaches a moon far away from Jupiter, it will search for water sources, which are thought to be in the form of ice beneath the surface. Prior to the launch, scientists had discovered a new form of ice that could exist in this distant world.

According to a report in India Today, scientists studying the properties of water at high pressure have discovered a new phase called Ice-VIIT, a square phase between ice-VII and ICE-X, which is a cubic phase. Step. Scientists say it is unlikely to find this unique phase anywhere on Earth’s surface, but it could be a common factor on Earth and on other large moons and aquatic planets outside our solar system.

Ice laser heating technology was used to temporarily melt the small crystals before turning them into powder. “By increasing the pressure and intermittently exploding with a laser beam, the team observed the formation of water ice from the known cubic phase of ice-VII to the newly discovered ice,” the team said in a statement.

By pressing a sample of water between these diamonds, the scientists transferred the oxygen and hydrogen atoms to different configurations, including the newly discovered configuration, Ice-VIT. Research has not only helped to discover a new phase of ice, but has also shown that the transition to ICE-EX occurred at three times lower pressure than previously thought. It happened in 10 lakh atmospheres in about 3 lakh atmospheres.

Ph.D. The study, led by Zac Grande, a student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, aims to understand the nature of water found inside distant planets.