Complex chemicals discovered on Enceladus advance the idea that Saturn’s moon could harbor extraterrestrial life.
Samples collected from Saturn’s ring and just above the moon Enceladus have found signs of a variety of organic molecules that could be among the ingredients needed for life. Enceladus likely possesses more complex organic molecules than previously thought, raising the possibility that chemical reactions exist that produce the building blocks of life.
Saturn’s moon Enceladus is a world that could potentially support extraterrestrial life. Beneath the moon’s icy crust is a vast ocean of liquid water, from which jets of ice and steam escape, and there is evidence of energy sources on the seafloor, similar to hydrothermal vents in Earth’s oceans.
The Cassini spacecraft studied Saturn and its moons for 13 years before colliding with the ringed gas giant in 2017. The spacecraft was able to collect samples of icy particles in one of Saturn’s outer rings, which scientists believe came from jets ejected by Enceladus.
Previously, scientists had confirmed after analyzing ice particles that Enceladus contains all six chemical elements necessary for life as we know it: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur.
The Cassini spacecraft also flew closer to Enceladus and collected ice particles from the jets themselves. But they had not yet been analyzed as thoroughly as scientists at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, did.
Researchers have found proof of a wide range of chemical groups common to many biological molecules. These include esters, alkenes and complex molecules containing nitrogen and oxygen.
Although scientists cannot determine exactly which molecules produce these chemical groups, their presence means there is a good chance that chemical reactions are present that create the building blocks of DNA.
One reason these chemicals weren’t found in Saturn’s ring is that the ice particles in the plume contain less water, allowing scientists to identify complex molecules.
This discovery strengthens the idea that Enceladus has the conditions necessary for life to emerge and that alien life could exist there itself.
