Searching for life on Enceladus?

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UFONews
Published
Scientists have found new complex organic molecules spewing from Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

In 2005, Cassini found the first evidence that Enceladus has a hidden ocean beneath its icy surface. Jets of water burst from cracks close to the moon’s south pole, shooting ice grains into space. Some of the tiny pieces of ice fall back onto the moon’s surface, whilst others escape and form a ring around Saturn that traces Enceladus’s orbit. The ice grains in the ring can be hundreds of years old. As they have aged, they may have been ‘weathered’ and therefore altered by intense space radiation.

Scientists wanted to investigate fresh grains ejected much more recently to get a better idea of what exactly is going on in Enceladus’s ocean. Fortunately, we already had the data. Back in 2008, Cassini flew straight through the icy spray. Pristine grains ejected only minutes before hit the spacecraft’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) instrument. By analysing the data, scientists found totally new molecules that had never been seen before in ice grains from Enceladus.

A mission that takes measurements directly from the moon’s surface, seeking out signs of life, would offer Europe a front seat in Solar System science. However, to move forward, our Science Programme needs adequate financial support at the next Ministerial Council on 26–27 November.

???? @europeanspaceagency

????️ ESA; Surface: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/Lunar and Planetary Institute
Category
Deep Space
Tags
ESA, European Space Agency, Space
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