Enceladus is a small, unattractive looking moon that orbits Saturn. But the brown sphere with a diameter of five hundred kilometers is one of the best adepts on a world inhabited by life in the Solar System. NASA has now brought another strong indirect evidence for the possible existence of life on this body.
In an article published in the journal Nature Astronomy, scientists analyzed data from the Cassini probe. She observed Enceladus during her 20-year mission around Saturn and saw large plumes of water gushing from the moon through cracks in its icy surface.
Cassini detected organic compounds in them, including amino acids and phosphorus. In 2017, it ended its mission by diving into Saturn’s atmosphere, from where it sent images to scientists until the last seconds of its existence. Researchers are still analyzing the data she collected today.
It is from them that the revelation that hydrogen cyanide occurs on Enceladus comes. On Earth, this substance is known as a violent poison that quickly kills all living things. It was because of him, for example, that thousands of people died in the disaster in Bhopal, India. But in reality, the chemical is associated not only with death, but also with life. “The discovery of hydrogen cyanide was extremely exciting for us because this compound is the starting point for most theories about the origin of life,” said Jonah Peter, a doctoral student at Harvard University and lead author of the new study.
It is believed that this molecule arrived on Earth via meteorites and contributed to the formation of amino acids through chemical reactions. Hydrogen cyanide has been shown to exist in space – it was discovered as one of the first carbon compounds in the protoplanetary disk of the star AA Tauri.
The ocean as a chemical battery
Additionally, a new study suggests that the ocean on Enceladus could act as a source of chemical energy. Research has shown that Enceladus harbors much more chemical energy than previously thought, increasing the chances that life can be born and sustained on the small moon.
“Our work provides further evidence that Enceladus is home to one of the most important molecules for both creating the building blocks of life and sustaining that life through metabolic reactions,” added Peter.
The combination of carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen found in plumes emitted by Enceladus could lead to so-called methanogenesis, the process by which methane is produced. On Earth, this very process was, according to some theories, key to the origin of life on Earth.
“If methanogenesis is like a small watch battery in terms of energy, then our results suggest that Enceladus’ ocean might offer something akin to a car battery, capable of providing large amounts of energy to any life that might exist there,” he said in a statement study co-author Kevin Hand of NASA.
2023-12-15 15:16:45
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