There are 62 moons orbiting Saturn. Enceladus is one of the top places we should target to explore and learn more about.
Although each exhibits unique characteristics, Enceladus and is of interest to humans for a couple of reasons – aside from the fact that the temperature is -330 degrees F.
Enceladus moon is currently being studied by NASA for a couple of reasons, mainly because Enceladus has water.
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But water on Enceladus is unique:
- The Enceladus moon is surrounded by 25 mile wide crust made of ice.
- Beneath the ice, a 6 mile deep ocean harbors hydrothermal vents that can reach temperatures of 400 degrees C.
- These hydrothermal vents are a result of heat and pressure deep within the core, releasing such massive amounts of heat that cracks have formed in the crust, releasing vapor in the form of geysers.
Much of what we know about Enceladus has come from the Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn, and has observed the moon during flybys.
The ship was able to collect samples of vapor expelled from the geysers, which contained organic material.
Together with water, these are fundamental building blocks for life.
Enceladus contains both water, organic material, and energy – the fundamental building blocks for life. – @espressoinsight
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Based on the observations from the Cassini spacecraft, it is possible that the oceans of Enceladus may be habitable to some form of life.
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Compared to Titan or even other planets, Enceladus moon is quite small – only 314 miles across. This is similar to one third of the driving distance from Chicago to Dallas.
Given that there is both H2O as well as organic compounds, the planet could in theory provide habitat to some obscure life form. Of course, this is just conjecture.
It cannot be stated for certain whether or not there is some type of aquatic microorganism such as plankton living in the oceans below the crust of Enceladus.
If there is life within the oceans of Enceladus, the bigger question then becomes – did life originate there, or come from somewhere else?
This brings up the question of abiogenesis or panspermia as possible theories for the origin of life.
Could life have evolved there on its own, or might it have arrived via the collision from a meteor or other object?
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sources:
Espresso Insight 