New evidence supports life on Saturn's moon possibility
New Delhi : Enceladus, Saturn's tiny moon, continues to astound scientists with its potential for harboring life. A recent study published in Nature has provided the first concrete evidence that Enceladus's ocean contains phosphorus, an essential element for life.
The discovery was made possible by the Cassini spacecraft, operated jointly by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) from 2004 to 2017. Cassini detected plumes of ice particles venting from cracks on Enceladus's surface. These plumes allowed samples of spray from the moon's internal ocean to be collected during close fly-bys, providing valuable material for analysis.
Previous analyses of the plume samples had detected five of the six essential elements for life: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. However, the presence of phosphorus had remained elusive until now. Phosphorus is crucial because it forms the phosphate groups necessary for DNA and RNA, the molecules responsible for storing genetic information.
The research team meticulously sifted through data collected by Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyser during periods when the spacecraft traversed Saturn's E-ring, within which Enceladus orbits. By analyzing nearly a thousand ice particles believed to originate from the moon's plumes, they identified nine that contained phosphates. This finding confirms that Enceladus has an ample supply of dissolved phosphorus in its ocean, making it a more favorable candidate for supporting life as we know it.
Additionally, laboratory experiments suggest that the concentration of dissolved phosphorus in Enceladus's ocean may be hundreds of times greater than that in Earth's oceans, further bolstering the moon's potential for sustaining life.
The study's researchers propose that icy moons located beyond the carbon dioxide snowline in the solar system, such as those around Saturn, are likely to contain abundant phosphorus. However, Jupiter's moon Europa, often considered another potential habitat for life, may have a phosphate concentration approximately a thousand times less than Enceladus. While this discrepancy does not necessarily rule out Europa's habitability, it underscores the significance of Enceladus's phosphorus discovery.
As scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of these distant celestial bodies, further exploration and future missions to Europa hold the promise of providing additional insights into the potential habitability of these icy moons and the presence of phosphorus, further expanding our understanding of the potential for life beyond Earth.
