Saturn moon may contain lifeSarah Knapton
The TelegraphWed, October 1, 2025 at 10:32 AM EDT
3 min read
Swimming robots to help search for signs of life - ESA/Science OfficeOrganic molecules that could signal alien life have been found spewing from one of the moons of Saturn.
Data from the Cassini spacecraft have revealed evidence that chemical reactions are happening deep below the ice which could be creating an environment capable of supporting life.
Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth largest moon, has always been a good candidate for life in the Solar System.
It contains a warm saltwater ocean beneath a thick layer of ice and water vapour spraying from cracks in the Moon’s south pole have the correct acidity for microbes to thrive.
Now, German researchers have gone back through 17-year-old data from when the Cassini spacecraft flew through ice grains shooting from fissures in Enceladus and found evidence of complex organic molecules.
Scientists said it was a “clear sign” that complex chemical reactions are taking place within the underground ocean.
Dr Nozair Khawaja, lead author of the project and planetary scientist at the Free University of Berlin, said: “The ice grains contain not just frozen water, but also other molecules, including organics. It enhances the likelihood that the moon is habitable.”
‘Raises serious questions’The newly detected molecular fragments include nitrogen and oxygen bearing compounds.
Enceladus, one of Saturn’s 83 moons, has a circumference of 984 miles (1,584km) was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel.
It is thought that its ocean will have contact with the moon’s rocky core, which means that elements useful for life – such as sulphur and potassium – should be within the water.
Previous Cassini fly-bys had already found many organic molecules including precursors for amino acids. The moon also emits methane, which can be produced by living organisms.
However, because methane can also be produced by geological processes, it is not definitive proof of life.
The Cassini-Huygens mission was a cooperative project of Nasa, Esa (European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency.
Nasa and the European Space Agency are already planning more missions to Enceladus, which could involve landing on the moon’s south polar terrain to collect samples, and drilling beneath the crust to search for signs of life in the ocean.
The US space agency is also developing tiny swimming robots that could explore beneath the icy moons, such as Enceladus, looking for signs of life using chemical and temperature signals.
“Even not finding life on Enceladus would be a huge discovery, because it raises serious questions about why life is not present in such an environment when the right conditions are there,” said Dr Khawaja.
Nicolas Altobelli, ESA Cassini project scientist adds: “It’s fantastic to see new discoveries emerging from Cassini data almost two decades after it was collected.
“It really showcases the long-term impact of our space missions. I look forward to comparing data from Cassini with data from ESA’s other missions to visit the icy moons of Saturn and Jupiter.”
The new analysis was published in Nature Astronomy.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/saturn-moon-may-contain-life-143243325.html
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