Enceladus Has All the Raw Materials for Life, Researchers Say
Enceladus, moon of Saturn.
Credit: NASA, ESA, JPL, SSI, Cassini Imaging Team
Saturn’s ocean moon, Enceladus, is attracting increasing attention in the search for life in our solar system. Most of what we know about Enceladus and its ice-covered ocean comes from the Cassini mission. Cassini ended its exploration of the Saturn system in 2017, but scientists are still working through its data.
New research based on Cassini data strengthens the idea that Enceladus has the chemicals necessary for life.
During its mission, Cassini discovered geyser-like plumes of water erupting through Enceladus’ icy shell. In 2008, Cassini performed a close-proximity flyby and analyzed the plumes with its Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA). The CDA showed that the water in the plumes contained a surprising mix of volatiles, including carbon dioxide, water vapor, and carbon monoxide. It also found trace amounts of molecular nitrogen, simple hydrocarbons, and complex organic chemicals.