Giant ocean plumes from the moon Enceladus are sent into space.
According to planetary scientists, this salty sea may be livable, meaning it may have conditions that host life. The water on this Saturnian moon may now contain abundant amounts of a vital component for life, according to recent studies (as we know it, anyway). Phosphorus, a crucial element in the genetic and cellular material, is what it is. Our bodies have the second-highest amount of this mineral.
According to Christopher Glein, a senior scientist at the research and development company Southwest Research Institute, “we discovered evidence that one of the main ingredients that are needed for life on Earth should be present in high quantity in the ocean of Enceladus.”
Glein, who studies the geology of extraterrestrial worlds, continued, “It shows Enceladus is more livable than previously imagined.” The study, which replicated how minerals dissolve into the moon’s sea and enabled scientists to calculate the amount of phosphorus on Enceladus, was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study’s results originate from an illustrious NASA mission in 2008 when the Cassini probe bravely navigated through jets of frozen water vapour, gases, and organic substances spraying from Enceladus’ south pole. The moon, which is the width of Arizona, immediately rose to the level of great mystery. The discoveries of Enceladus, according to Linda Spilker, the project scientist for Cassini, “have transformed the direction of planetary research.” Enceladus is now something that planetary scientists may take into account as a potential home for life, she noted.
The element phosphorus is essential to life as we know it.
While Cassini briefly passed through the moon’s plumes, not all of the ocean was seen. Furthermore, prior studies found that Enceladus’ oceans were deficient in phosphorus, which is bad news for the habitability of the ocean world.
To better understand how the rocky seafloor geology of Enceladus interacts with the salty seas—a natural process that dissolves phosphorus minerals into the water—this most recent study, however, used updated, more thorough computer simulations. Naturally, scientists lack direct samples of Enceladus’ core because doing so would necessitate an extraordinary robotic journey to a distant moon. However, we know the core is made of rocky material (due to how Cassini interacted with Enceladus’ gravity), and scientists have a wealth of meteorites on Earth and information from other extraterrestrial rocks that provide compelling clues about what the rocky regions in our solar system are made of.
Geoff Collins, a planetary scientist at Wheaton College who was not involved in the study, told Mashable that although we don’t know for sure what the rocky core of Enceladus is made of, we can make educated estimates based on what we discover in other parts of the solar system. Collins also mentioned that Chinese scientists recently found a new phosphate mineral on the moon.
Glein and his research team are certain they understand what is dissolving into the water of Enceladus when taken as a whole. And there is a lot of phosphorous. He stressed that “phosphorus has an important function in life as we know it.”
Enceladus is 800 million miles away from Earth and is located far within the solar system. So, for the foreseeable future, planetary scientists will have to sift through the information gathered by the Cassini mission as it studied Saturn and its moons to determine the true nature of this extraterrestrial ocean. Glein stated, “We’d encourage people to keep examining the data from Cassini. This investigation is another step in the longer-term examination of this fascinating moon.
A space organization like NASA may one day deploy a probe to land on Enceladus. This might happen in the late 2040s or early 2050s. Even just going to the moon’s south pole and taking a sample of the snow directly from its frozen plumes would provide researchers with a wealth of information on what’s happening in the oceans below. In a recent key planning paper, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommended a probing visit and land on Enceladus. (NASA will already deploy an orbiter to Europa, a moon of Jupiter, in 2024 to “examine whether the ice world may host conditions conducive to life. )
Enceladus travel is decades away. That, however, is planetary science.
People put off answering these profound issues for their whole lives, according to Glein. You must possess a great deal of patience.