May 27, 2023

Spacecraft could detect signs of life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus

Spacecraft could detect signs of life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus
Spacecraft could detect signs of life on Saturn’s moon EnceladusSpacecraft could detect signs of life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus
Enceladus

An illustration of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft diving through the plumes of Saturn’s moon Enceladus

NASA/JPL-Caltech

We should be able to detect signs of life like amino acids on Saturn’s moon Enceladus without destroying them in a high-speed collision.

In 2005, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft found evidence that plumes of water ice were erupting from Enceladus, with images showing clear evidence they were coming from the moon’s south pole region. Later studies suggested these plumes originated from a subsurface ocean, located beneath an icy shell, which could host conditions right for …