Study shows evidence of habitable conditions on Saturn moon
November 7 (UPI) — Saturn’s moon Enceladus may be capable of supporting life, according to data collected by NASA’s Cassini mission and compiled in a new study in the journal Science Advances.
The Moon is one of the most promising of Saturn’s 274 moons for supporting extraterrestrial life, and data suggest it is capable of long-term stability that would allow life to thrive. Oxford University It was announced on Friday.
Researchers from the Southwest Research Institute in Oxford and the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz., determined that heat flows through the north and south poles of Enceladus, which is about 310 miles in diameter.
“Enceladus is an important target in the search for life beyond Earth,” said Georgina Miles of the Southwest Research Institute and lead author of the study.
“Understanding the long-term availability of its energy is key to determining whether it can support life,” Miles said.
Previous studies only revealed heat loss at the moon’s south pole, but the new study shows similar activity at Enceladus’ north pole.
“This finding confirms that the icy moon radiates much more heat than would be expected if it were just a passive body, and strengthens the claim that it could support life,” the researchers said.
They describe Enceladus as “a highly active world with a global, salty subsurface ocean believed to be the source of its heat.”
The presence of water, heat, and chemicals such as phosphorus and hydrocarbons make the Moon one of the most promising places in the solar system for life to evolve away from Earth.
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft He determined that Enceladus had an active ocean in 2005 when he discovered large amounts of water vapor rising from the ocean through cracks in the Moon’s surface. According to Space.com.
For the Moon’s subsurface ocean to create a stable environment capable of supporting life, energy gains and losses must be balanced.
According to the study, such a balance is achieved and maintained by tidal heating on Enceladus due to the gravitational effects of Saturn.
Saturn’s gravity compresses and stretches the moon as it orbits the planet, producing internal heat.
If the Moon receives too much energy, subsurface ocean activity will increase and change its environment; Too little energy will cause the ocean to freeze and the moon’s surface activity to slow or stop.
The discovery of activity at both poles is promising, but the researchers said additional studies are needed to determine how old the hidden ocean beneath the lunar surface is and to learn whether it has existed long enough to support the development of life.
