A recent study Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, discovered several organic compounds that had never been recorded before. The results, published this month in Natural astronomyprovide modern clues about the internal chemical makeup of this icy world, as well as modern hope that it may harbor life.
Scientists analyzed data from Cassini a probe that was launched in 1997 and spent years studying Saturn and its moons until its destruction in 2017. In the case of Enceladus, Cassini collected data from fragments of ice forcefully ejected from the Moon’s subsurface ocean into space.
Enceladus is one of 274 bodies discovered so far under Saturn’s gravitational pull. It has a diameter of about 500 kilometers, making it the sixth largest satellite on the planet. Although this moon does not stand out in size, it is distinguished by cryovolcanoes – geysers on the south pole of Enceladus that spew water vapor and fragments of ice. Streaks of ejected material can reach almost up to Length 10,000 kmwhich is longer than the distance from Mexico to Patagonia, and some of this matter floats into space. Saturn’s outermost main ring – its E ring – consists mainly of ice ejected into space by Enceladus.
The material is believed to come from a salty water chamber beneath the Moon’s icy crust, connected to its rocky core. It is possible that chemical reactions take place there under high pressure and heat.
Until now, most chemical analyzes of Enceladus’ ice have looked at particles embedded in Saturn’s E ring. However, during a quick flyby of the Moon in 2008, Cassini was fortunate to directly sample freshly ejected fragments from the cryovolcano. The modern research paper re-analyzes this data, confirming the presence of previously detected organic molecules as well as revealing compounds that were previously undetected.
“Such compounds are believed to be intermediates in the synthesis of more complex molecules that may potentially have biological significance. However, it should be remembered that these molecules can also be formed abiotically” – Nozair Khawaja, planetary scientist at Freie Universität Berlin and lead author of the study, he told Reuters. The discovery significantly expands the range of confirmed organic molecules on Enceladus.
The key is that these compounds appeared in freshly ejected particles, suggesting they were formed in the Moon’s hidden ocean or in contact with its internal phase boundaries, rather than while traveling through the E ring or as a result of exposure to space conditions. This strengthens the hypothesis that hydrothermal processes taking place beneath the surface of Enceladus may produce wealthy organic chemicals. Combining the modern research with previous studies, scientists have now discovered five of the six elements necessary for life – carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur – in material ejected from the satellite.
This in itself is not the discovery of life or biosignals – signs of life. However, research confirms that Enceladus meets three basic conditions for the emergence of life: liquid water, an energy source and the necessary elements and organic substances. “Enceladus is and should be considered a prime target for habitability research and whether life exists or not,” Khawaja said.
This story originally appeared on WIRE in Spanish and was translated from Spanish.