NEW YORK: The Cassini probe zipped through the icy plumes of Enceladus Wednesday, looking for evidence that the moon’s hidden sea is habitable. The search for life in the solar system is increasingly pointing to new and less-accessible destinations.
Of all the objects in the solar system that might be hospitable for life as we know it, no place is shouting louder for attention than Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
That could become a roar now that NASA’s Cassini orbiter has completed its latest and closest flyby. The spacecraft dipped deep into the plumes of water ice erupting from fissures in the moon’s icy surface to help answer the question: Could life truly thrive in the liquid-water ocean beneath the moon’s ice?
Up to now, evidence has favored yes. If Wednesday’s encounter reinforces the case, it could make Enceladus one of the most compelling objects in the solar system for further study.
