"Underground Ocean Makes This Saturn Moon a Top Bet..." Topic

… for Extraterrestrial Life.

"Scientists have determined that a hidden ocean of liquid water likely lies beneath the frozen crust of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Because the tiny moon freely sends samples of this water into space via spectacular geysers, the finding could rocket Enceladus to the forefront of searches for life beyond our planet.Enceladus has been known as an oddball in the outer solar system ever since the discovery in 2005 of its incredible water jets. The finding, made by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, revealed that the tiny world – only one-seventh the size of our own moon – is geologically active. Cassini has been back to Enceladus many times since, exploring and photographing enormous cracks at the moon's south pole known as tiger stripes, and even flying through the geysers to sample their composition.Scientists knew the water in Enceladus' jets must have been coming from somewhere. But exactly how much liquid water the moon kept on hand at any given time was something of a mystery. Perhaps subterranean ice blocks were rubbing together, generating friction and heat that melted the ice and powered the geysers. The idea of an ocean has long been a more attractive explanation and, in this sense, the recent finding wasn't unanticipated…"
Full article here.
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Amicalement
Armand

Oh ! Fish aliens !!

(BIG SMILE)

Amicalement
Armand

i first read about this a few months ago. Spectacular!

A future spacecraft outfitted with a more powerful instrument could potentially detect complex organics such as amino acids or even conduct a sample return mission, though this presents problems protecting against interplanetary contamination.

It might be years, or even decades, but I hope such a probe is launched, eventually. Interplanetary contamination is definitely a concern, though. Maybe return any samples to an orbiting space lab (which might also be launched by then) which could be "blowed up real good" if something dangerous was found.

Ahh….

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