- 4286 -
ENCELADUS - could it have life? - Enceladus, a Moon of Saturn, could be
habitable? Evidence of hydrogen
cyanide in data from the Cassini spacecraft adds to a growing list of molecules
that could, in theory, support life on the icy moon of Saturn.
-------------------------- 4286 - ENCELADUS - could it have life?
- Enceladus, an icy
moon of Saturn, contains many building blocks needed to support life, including
water, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and hydrogen gas. Data collected by the spacecraft
Cassini, identifies another key molecule
that could likely be added to that list: hydrogen cyanide. Despite the gas’s
reputation as a poison, it’s thought to play a role in life’s beginnings.
-
- They also found
evidence of several other organic compounds, including acetylene, propane and
ethane, which also signal the moon’s potential to support life.
-
- These compounds
have the potential to support microbial life or processes that could kick-start
life’s emergence. By mixing together,
the molecules could theoretically lead to “a habitable environment where life
can be supported or might originate”.
-
- Small, cold and
very bright, Enceladus contains a vast saltwater ocean beneath its icy surface.
Geysers eject ice water and gas from the ocean into space at around 800 miles
per hour. Most of the spewed material falls back to the surface, but some ends
up in one of Saturn’s rings.
-
- By taking samples
from a giant plume, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft was able to provide insight into
the chemical makeup of the moon’s ocean. It found not only water vapor, carbon
dioxide and methane, but also salts and silica, which is made in warm
temperatures and suggests the ocean contains hydrothermal vents.
-
- Scientists also
found evidence of phosphorus in the ice grains. Phosphorus was the last of the
six elements essential for life to be detected on Enceladus, marking a key
milestone in the search for life in our solar system.
-
- Searching for
compounds in the plume is a bit like putting the pieces of a puzzle back
together. They are looking for the
right combination of molecules that reproduce the observed data. Among the handful of molecules the models
pointed to, hydrogen cyanide.
-
- We don’t have a
complete picture of the molecules that are there and that would be necessary
for the origin of life. We don’t even
know how the origin of life happened on Earth.
But we do have a good idea of some of the building blocks that are
required for the beginning of life, and hydrogen cyanide is one of those.
-
- Hydrogen cyanide is
an important molecule for forming amino acids, which are the building blocks of
proteins and form components of both DNA and RNA.
-
- They also found organic compounds that were
oxidized, meaning they’ve chemically combined with oxygen. This process
releases chemical energy that could theoretically fuel life.
-
- Taken together,
the detection of these compounds indicate the presence of a rich, chemically
diverse environment that could support complex organic synthesis and possibly
even the origin of life.
-
-
December 26, 2023
ENCELADUS - could it have life? 4286
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