Scientists studying data from the Cassini mission to Saturn and it's icy Moons have discovered interesting chemistry hidden in the data from Cassini's close pass flyby through one of the water plumes being ejected from the Moon , the data shows organics close to biological processes of Earth's oceans.
With the ESA JUICE mission heading to Jupiter to look for traces of life on its icy ocean Moons we could find life on most if not all of them.
Exciting times.
Quote:A recent study published in Nature Astronomy reports the presence of both familiar and new molecules in ice grains collected just 13 miles above Enceladus. The findings mark the first observation of such diverse organics in fresh samples from the moon's plume. The research highlights a potential link between detected organics and chemical activity crucial to biological processes on Earth.
Lead author Nozair Khawaja of Freie Universitat Berlin stated, "Previously, we detected organics in ice grains that were years old and potentially altered by the intense radiation environment surrounding them. These new organic compounds were just minutes old, found in ice that was fresh from the ocean below Enceladus' surface." The study focused on particles collected by Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyzer during a rapid flyby, enabling analysis of material originating closest to the ocean source.Coauthor Frank Postberg explained, "These molecules we found in the freshly ejected material prove that the complex organic molecules Cassini detected in Saturn's E ring are not just a product of long exposure to space, but are readily available in Enceladus' ocean."
https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Cassi...e_999.html
With the ESA JUICE mission heading to Jupiter to look for traces of life on its icy ocean Moons we could find life on most if not all of them.
Exciting times.
