Saturn’s moon Enceladus may be able to support life, scientists say

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft captured this image of Enceladus on Nov. 30, 2010, with the geyser-like jets of ice grains clearly visible.

A fresh look at data collected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has uncovered more evidence that Saturn’s moon Enceladus may be able to support life, with additional complex organic molecules identified from the geyser-like jets of ice grains that spew into space from this small icy world’s subsurface ocean.

Researchers re-examined in great detail data obtained when Cassini conducted its closest flyby of Enceladus in 2008, including when it flew directly through plumes of ice grains and gases erupting from the ice-encrusted moon’s surface through fractures near its south pole. In doing so, they were able to gain a clearer picture of the moon’s subsurface chemi