Life on Enceladus?
Anywhere where water exists in liquid form, there could also be life. That’s why Saturn’s moon Enceladus is particularly interesting for researchers.
From 2004 to 2017 the Cassini space probe gathered data about Saturn and its moons. These data are still being analysed today.
For Frank Postberg of the Free University of Berlin, Saturn’s moon Enceladus is of particular interest. The Cassini data show: underneath a layer of ice 30 kilometres thick there is an ocean 60 kilometres deep. Liquid water is an essential condition for life as we know it. So this poses the question as to whether there is extra-terrestrial life on Enceladus.
Cassini can help here too: at the south pole of Enceladus there are ice volcanoes that spew out clouds made of gas, water steam and ice. The probe is taking samples in this cloud, which are giving researchers information about the properties of the ocean. And it does indeed look as though there could be simple life forms here.
For Frank Postberg of the Free University of Berlin, Saturn’s moon Enceladus is of particular interest. The Cassini data show: underneath a layer of ice 30 kilometres thick there is an ocean 60 kilometres deep. Liquid water is an essential condition for life as we know it. So this poses the question as to whether there is extra-terrestrial life on Enceladus.
Cassini can help here too: at the south pole of Enceladus there are ice volcanoes that spew out clouds made of gas, water steam and ice. The probe is taking samples in this cloud, which are giving researchers information about the properties of the ocean. And it does indeed look as though there could be simple life forms here.
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