HARROW: Scientists believe that Saturn’s moon Enceladus may be able to harbor life. The craft has detected what appears to be thermal activity, which would suggest the presence of water warm enough to sustain living organisms.
Encedalus is an ice-covered satellite of Saturn, representing what Cassini scientist Nicolas Altobelli calls an example of “a very common habitat in the galaxy: icy moons around gas giant planets…able to maintain liquid water below their icy surface.”
A report by CNET explains that the Cassini spacecraft’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer picked up evidence indicating the presence of heated water on Encedalus. This evidence arrived in the form of tiny specks of dust comprised largely of silicon, which are likely to originate from a thermal environment.
According to the research team’s statement, on Earth the “most common way to form small silica grains is through hydrothermal activity.” Scientists believe that the silica dust most likely entered the atmosphere by being shot upward from geysers caused by heated water beneath the moon’s icy surface.
The statement also said that “subsequent measurements of the moon’s gravitational field revealed a 10 km deep subsurface ocean at the south pole, below a 30-40 km thick ice crust.”
The combination of geologic activity and the presence of a subsurface ocean on Encedalus lead scientists to believe that the moon could be a suitable environment for life to exist.
Cassini scientists have also found noteworthy amounts of methane in the atmosphere — another possible indicator of hydrothermal activity or possibly the melting of ice rich in methane.
“This moon has all the ingredients – water, heat, and minerals – to support habitability in the outer Solar System, confirming the astrobiological potential of Encedalus,” said Cassini project scientist Nicolas Altobelli.
The Cassini spacecraft is the first to orbit Saturn, and is also the largest interplanetary craft that NASA has ever launched. Cassini will continue to investigate Saturn and its icy moon for further indications that life may be possible so far from the Sun.
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