New Cassini findings suggest Saturn moon
could support life
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[June 29, 2018]
BERLIN (Reuters) - Complex organic
molecules have been discovered originating from one of Saturn's moons,
Enceladus, adding to its potential to support life, researchers said on
Wednesday.
The Cassini spacecraft first flew close to the ice-covered moon in 2005
as part of a mission to gather data on Saturn that will be analyzed for
years to come.
A team led by Frank Postberg and Nozair Khawaja of the University of
Heidelberg in Germany said they had identified fragments of large
organic molecules in ice grains that were ejected from geysers through
cracks in the moon's icy exterior.
Their findings were published in the Nature journal.
"It is the first ever detection of complex organics coming from an
extraterrestrial waterworld," Postberg was quoted as saying in a
statement on the European Space Agency's website.
The Enceladus findings come after data earlier this month showed organic
compounds on the surface of Mars and seasonal fluctuations of
atmospheric methane, marking some of the strongest evidence ever that
Earth's neighbor may have harbored life.
Cassini has previously detected lightweight organic molecules at
Enceladus but the newly found fragments are much larger. Such large
molecules can only be created by complex chemical processes including
those related to life, ESA said.
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![](../images/062918pics/news_m21.jpg)
The spacecraft Cassini is pictured above Saturn's northern
hemisphere prior to making one of its Grand Finale dives in this
NASA handout illustration obtained by Reuters August 29, 2017.
NASA/Handout via REUTERS
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"This is the most recent in a long series of discoveries made by
Cassini that have been painting Enceladus as a potentially habitable
water-world," ESA said.
However, while this indicates that Enceladus may have conditions
that could allow for life, organic compounds can also arise from
other sources, such as from meteorites.
Postberg said the fragments could come from hydrothermal activity
deep within the moon.
"In my opinion the fragments we found are of hydrothermal origin,
having been processed inside the hydrothermally active core of
Enceladus: in the high pressures and warm temperatures we expect
there, it is possible that complex organic molecules can arise," he
said.
The Cassini joint mission between NASA, ESA and the Italian space
agency came to an end in 2017.
(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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