March 10, 2006
A NASA mission to Saturn has found evidence of water spewing from geysers on one of the ringed planet's icy moons, making it a possible home to extraterrestrial life.
"We have the smoking gun," Cassini imaging scientist Carolyn Porco said, in a briefing on the discovery of the geysers on Enceladus, Associated Press reported today.
New images from the orbiting Cassini-Huygens spacecraft showed icy jets erupting from the surface and giant plumes of vapor resembling geysers in Yellowstone National Park in the US.
Scientists said if Enceladus harboured life, it probably consisted of microbes or other primitive organisms capable of living in extreme conditions.
The findings were published in today's issue of Science magazine.
Enceladus, a lump of rock and ice 505km across, is the shiniest object in the solar system. It was long thought to be a lifeless lump, but scientists now believe it is a geologically active moon with a warm south pole, AP said.
Its planet, Saturn, is around 1300 million km from Earth.
Some scientists have reacted with caution to the possibility that Enceladus might harbour life. Senior NASA scientist David Morrison said: "It's certainly interesting, but I don't see how much more you can say beyond that."
Launched in 1997, Cassini is a joint mission between NASA and the European Space Agency. It went into orbit around Saturn in 2004, revealing spectacular images of the planet's rings.
The spacecraft passed Enceladus three times last year. AP said it would fly within 354km of the moon again in 2008.
Originally Posted by Kristy
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