Ice geysers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus emit powerful jets of ice, and researchers say the icy plumes could release life-promoting components into space.
As he writes “Space“, this assumption highlights the possibility of detecting these components without landing a spacecraft on the satellite. When the Cassini probe flew past Enceladus, its instruments detected the presence of ice geysers shooting up from the surface of the moon of Saturn. These emissions were sent into space at a speed of about 1450 km/h Scientists believe that these eruptions indicate the presence of an underground ocean on Enceladus, and it is possible that this ocean contains organic molecules that are the building blocks for life.
The scientific community is now almost certain that there is an ocean on Enceladus, and recent research indicates that it contains all the necessary components for the emergence of life as we know it. Scientists say amino acids, possible building blocks of life, may exist along with ice geysers and be detected by spacecraft orbiting Enceladus.
Previously, it was believed that complex organic molecules would not be able to survive the release into space and would break down into individual components, which would prevent their detection in icy emissions. It was also assumed that they would move at such a high speed that they would not survive a collision with the spacecraft’s detector.
A recent study found that amino acids in ice geysers can survive impact with a detector. The experiment demonstrates that these molecules retain their integrity when colliding with the detector, even at speeds of up to 15,000 km/h. This way, the spacecraft itself can move quickly enough around Enceladus without damaging the data collected.
To detect possible extraterrestrial life, scientists need to obtain unspoiled ice samples. If amino acids are present in the geysers of Enceladus, finding them would likely be relatively simple. The authors of the study believe that in a similar way it is possible to detect signs of life on another satellite with oceanic waters – Europa, a satellite of Jupiter.
Previously, astronomers said that the “lost” satellite could explain several mysteries of Saturn.
2023-12-09 03:17:48
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