Researcher helps identify new evidence of habitability in the vicinity of Saturn’s moon Enceladus

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عالم SwRI يساعد في تحديد أدلة جديدة لإمكانية السكن في محيط إنسيلادوس 4 2- ) is likely to be abundant in the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Ocean soda or alkaline (contains NaHCO 3 and/or Na2CO 3 ) inside Enceladus reacts geochemically with a rocky core. Modeling suggests that this reaction promotes the dissociation of phosphate minerals, making orthophosphates readily available for potential life in the ocean. Since phosphorous is an essential element for life, this discovery supports the mounting evidence for habitability within this young Saturnian moon. Credit: Southwest Research Institute” width=”800″ height=”530″/>

SwRI Principal Scientist Dr. Christopher Glenn contributed to new discoveries that phosphorous is in the form of orthophosphates (for example, HPO).42-) is abundant in the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Soda or alkaline ocean (contains NaHCO3 and/or Na2CO3) inside Enceladus reacts geochemically with a rocky core. Modeling suggests that this reaction promotes the dissociation of phosphate minerals, making orthophosphates readily available for potential life in the ocean. Since phosphorous is an essential element for life, this discovery supports the mounting evidence for habitability within this young Saturnian moon. Credit: Southwest Research Institute

The search for extraterrestrial life is becoming more interesting as a team of scientists, including Dr. Christopher Glenn of the Southwest Research Institute, has discovered new evidence of a building block for life in the subterranean ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. New modeling suggests that Enceladus’ ocean must be relatively rich in dissolved phosphorous, an element essential for life.


“Enceladus is one of the main targets of mankind’s search for life in our region Solar System,” said Glenn, who is a leading expert on extraterrestrial oceanography. He is a co-author of a research paper at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Describing this search. “In the years since NASA’s Cassini spacecraft visited the Saturn system, we have been repeatedly surprised by discoveries made possible by the data collected.”

The Cassini spacecraft has detected liquid water beneath the surface of Enceladus and analyzed the samples as plumes of ice grains and Water vapor It erupted into space from cracks in the moon’s icy surface.

“What we’ve learned is that the shaft contains nearly all of the basic requirements for life as we know it,” Glenn said. “While the vital element phosphorous has not been directly identified, our team discovered evidence of its availability in the ocean beneath the moon’s icy crust.”

One of the most profound discoveries in planetary science For the past 25 years, worlds with oceans beneath a surface layer of ice have been common in our solar system. These worlds include the icy satellites of giant planets, such as Europa, Titan and Enceladus, as well as distant objects such as Pluto. Worlds like Earth with surface oceans must lie within a narrow range of distances from their host stars to maintain temperatures that support liquid surface water. However, inland water ocean worlds can occur over a much wider range of distances, greatly increasing the number of potentially habitable worlds across the galaxy.

“The pursuit of the possibility of extraterrestrial habitation in the solar system has shifted focus, as we are now searching for the building blocks of life, including organic moleculesAmmonia and sulfur-bearing compounds as well chemical energy “He needs life support,” Glenn said. “Phosphorous represents an interesting case because previous work suggests that it may be rare in the vicinity of Enceladus, which could reduce the odds of life.”

Phosphorous in the form of phosphate is vital to all life on Earth. It is essential for creating DNA and RNA, energy-carrying molecules, cell membranes, bones and teeth in humans and animals, and even the sea-plankton microbiome.

Team members performed thermodynamic and kinetic modeling that simulates the geochemistry of phosphorous based on insights from Cassini about the ocean floor system on Enceladus. In the course of their research, they developed the most detailed geochemical model to date of how seafloor minerals in the ocean of Enceladus melt and predicted that the phosphate minerals would be extraordinarily soluble there.

“Basic geochemistry has an elegant simplicity that makes the presence of solutes phosphorous It’s inevitable, Glenn said, reaching levels close to or even higher than those found in seawater on modern Earth. “What this means for astrobiology is that we can be more confident than before that Enceladus’ ocean is habitable.”

According to Glenn, the next step is clear: “We need to go back to Enceladus to see if Ocean already inhabited.”


Theoretical model suggests that the salinity of Enceladus’ oceans may be correct to sustain life


more information:
“Expected Abundant Phosphorous for Possible Life in the Ocean of Enceladus”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201388119

the quote: Researcher helps identify new evidence for habitability in the vicinity of Saturn’s moon Enceladus (2022, September 19) Retrieved September 19, 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-09-evidence-habitability-ocean-saturn -moon.html

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