Scientists suggest that spacecraft detect signs of life emanating from Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

Lab experiments reveal that potential amino acids ejected from Enceladus’ subsurface ocean could endure impact with a spacecraft.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft observed ice plumes shooting up from Saturn’s moon Enceladus at astonishing speeds, hinting at a vast subsurface ocean and sparking curiosity about potential signs of life within its fluid, organic molecules. However, collecting and studying these molecules without damaging them poses a challenge.

Encouragingly, a lab experiment suggests that any amino acids present in the geysers’ fluid could withstand contact with a spacecraft.

In this experiment, researchers utilized a setup designed to analyze collisions. They generated ice particles by subjecting water to high voltage, forming tiny droplets that crystallized into ice grains in a vacuum. These hardened grains were then propelled through a spectrometer, and their impact was recorded and imaged. The findings indicated that amino acids within the ice grains could endure impact speeds of up to 9,400 mph, indicating their potential survival during encounters with space probes.

This discovery holds promise for studying the ice grains’ contents, particularly for detecting life-related compounds. Robert Continetti, a chemist involved in the research at the University of California San Diego, emphasized the feasibility of obtaining undamaged ice grains from Enceladus for precise compound analysis.

While the experiment focused on Enceladus, its implications extend beyond Saturn’s moon. If similar amino acids are present on other water-rich moons, such as Jupiter’s Europa, upcoming missions like the Europa Clipper might have the potential to detect them within ice grains.

The researchers published their work on Dec. 4 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

This article is republished from SpaceCom under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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