NASA's New Discovery of Enceladus' Geysers Spurs Question of Extraterrestrial Life

NASA's Discovery of Geysers on Enceladus Sparks Interest in Possible Extraterrestrial Life

Scientists and astronomers worldwide are reeling from the implications of NASA's recent discovery of active geysers on Saturn's moon, Enceladus. The data, obtained by the Cassini spacecraft, has solidified the moon's place as one of the most likely locations to host extraterrestrial life within our solar system.

Background on Enceladus

Enceladus is a small moon, only about 500 kilometers (310 miles) across, orbiting Saturn's equator. It is considered to be one of Saturn's icy moons, together with Titan and Europa. Europa is already known to have active geysers, but the new discovery puts Enceladus on the same spectrum. The moon has been of interest to scientists for some time, but its icy surface seemed to conceal a warmer interior, indicative of geological activity.

The Discovery

In 2015, Cassini, a joint NASA, ESA, and ASI mission, flew close to Enceladus in a maneuver that was intended to be a precursor to flying through the geysers. During this flyby, gravitational measurements obtained by the spacecraft showed fluctuations consistent with the existence of a subsurface ocean on the moon. This was followed by a 2017 flyby, during which Cassini directly sampled the plume of one of the geysers, confirming the presence of water vapor and organic molecules. Organic molecules are those that contain carbon and are essential for the formation of life.

The biggest breakthrough, however, came in 2018 when Cassini analyzed the particles in Enceladus' plume and found significant amounts of molecular hydrogen. This substance is believed to be a result of underground hydrothermal vents, which could provide the conditions necessary for chemical reactions that spawn biological life.

The Implications

Hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean on Earth are known to be hotspots for biological activity, including unprecedented ecosystems. As such, if there are hydrothermal vents on Enceladus, it significantly increases the chances for microbial or even single-cell life to exist.

Jim Green, NASA's chief scientist, is quoted as saying:

"This discovery tells us to keep an open mind and continue to explore whether chemical reactions similar to those in our deepest oceans could occur in the Enceladus ocean, and whether those reactions could spark the evolution of life."

Jane Greaves, a professor at the University of Cardiff and lead author of one of the research papers based on Cassini's data, commented:

"Scientists have postulated that these kinds of ocean chemical reactions could theoretically begin the path to life for planets and moons alike. When combined with the evidence for ocean vents, the possibilities for the evolution of simple life on Enceladus appear less theoretical and more realistic."

The Future

With this newfound potential for extraterrestrial life, the future of space exploration takes on a new urgency. Scientists are already discussing the possibility of a future mission to Enceladus, one that would involve landing on and drilling into the moon's surface to collect samples from the alleged hydrothermal vents.

This potential new chapter in the search for extraterrestrial life is only made more exciting by the fact that Europa, another moon rumored to have similar potential for life, could also soon be explored by a spacecraft mission. Europa, like Enceladus, appears to have an ocean lying beneath its surface, though its geysers have not yet been confirmed.

Europa and Enceladus are two jewels in the expanse of our solar system, waiting to be explored and unraveled. With future missions on the horizon, the prospects of discovering extraterrestrial life are tantalizingly close.