The subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus contains an essential building block for life

Phosphorus in the form of phosphates is vital to all forms of life on Earth.

A team of scientists has discovered new evidence that Enceladus has a subterranean ocean Saturn, It contains phosphorous, which is an essential building block of life.

The team used data from NASA’s Cassini mission, which has been exploring Saturn, its ring system, and moons for more than 13 years. The spacecraft detected liquid water beneath the surface of Enceladus and analyzed samples from a cloud of ice grains and gases spewing from cracks in the moon’s icy surface. Analysis of one class of salt-rich ice pellets showed the presence of sodium phosphate.

«We found abundant phosphorus in samples from the ice plume from the subsurface oceansays Christopher Glenn, a leading expert in extraterrestrial oceanography at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio and one of the authors of a paper in the journal Nature describing the research.

Phosphorus in the form of phosphates is vital to all forms of life on Earth. It is essential for the formation of DNA and RNA, energy-carrying molecules, cell membranes, bones and teeth in humans and animals, and even the microbiome of marine plankton.

«We found phosphate concentrations at least 100 times higher in the waters of the lunar feather-forming oceans than in Earth’s oceans.Glenn explains, adding:This is a surprising result for Astrobiology and a huge step forward in the search for life beyond Earth».