Liquid water appears from the moons subsurface ocean, forming a plume that contains grains of frozen ocean water. The team analyzed Cassini spacecraft information from ice grains in the E ring, which revealed fingerprints of soluble phosphate salts from Enceladus ocean. The discovery of phosphates by Cassini strongly supports the paradigm that Enceladus ocean is habitable.” We discovered phosphate concentrations at least 100 times greater in the moons plume-forming ocean waters than in Earths oceans,” Glein stated.” Geochemical experiments and modeling demonstrate that such high phosphate concentrations result from boosted phosphate mineral solubility, in Enceladus and possibly other icy ocean worlds in the solar system beyond Jupiter,” Glein stated.
The Cassini spacecraft found Enceladus subsurface liquid water and analyzed samples in a plume of ice grains and gases appearing into space from fractures in the moons icy surface area. Analysis of a class of salt-rich ice grains by Cassinis Cosmic Dust Analyzer showed the existence of sodium phosphates. The groups observational results, together with lab analogue experiments, recommend that phosphorus is easily available in Enceladus ocean as phosphates.
Researchers have actually presumed that a soda or alkaline ocean (consisting of NaHCO3 and/or Na2CO3) within Enceladus connects geochemically with a rocky core. Geochemical modeling and lab experiments show that this interaction promotes the dissolution of phosphate minerals, making phosphate (e.g., HPO4-2) easily offered to prospective life in the ocean. The discovery of phosphates by Cassini highly supports the paradigm that Enceladus ocean is habitable. Credit: Southwest Research Institute
Phosphorus in the type of phosphates is crucial for all life on Earth. It is necessary for the creation of DNA and RNA, energy-carrying molecules, cell membranes, bones, and teeth in animals and individuals, and even the seas microbiome of plankton. Life as we understand it is simply not possible without phosphates.
” We found phosphate concentrations at least 100 times higher in the moons plume-forming ocean waters than in Earths oceans,” Glein said. “Using a model to predict the presence of phosphate is one thing, but in fact discovering the evidence for phosphate is extremely exciting. This is a sensational result for astrobiology and a significant action forward in the search for life beyond Earth.”
One of the most profound discoveries in planetary science over the past 25 years is that worlds with oceans underneath a surface area layer of ice are typical in our solar system. Worlds like Earth with surface area oceans should live within a narrow range of ranges from their host stars to maintain the temperatures that support surface liquid water.
” Geochemical experiments and modeling show that such high phosphate concentrations arise from improved phosphate mineral solubility, in Enceladus and possibly other icy ocean worlds in the planetary system beyond Jupiter,” Glein stated. “With this finding, the ocean of Enceladus is now known to satisfy what is normally thought about to be the strictest requirement for life. The next action is clear– we need to go back to Enceladus to see if the habitable ocean is in fact lived in.”
Reference: “Detection of phosphates originating from Enceladuss ocean” by Frank Postberg, Yasuhito Sekine, Fabian Klenner, Christopher R. Glein, Zenghui Zou, Bernd Abel, Kento Furuya, Jon K. Hillier, Nozair Khawaja, Sascha Kempf, Lenz Noelle, Takuya Saito, Juergen Schmidt, Takazo Shibuya, Ralf Srama and Shuya Tan, 14 June 2023, Nature.DOI: 10.1038/ s41586-023-05987-9.
The lead author of the Nature paper is Frank Postberg from the Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. The research team includes scientists from 10 institutions around the world. Glein was the lead U.S. investigator.
SwRI Lead Scientist Dr. Christopher Glein belonged to a team that found phosphorus, an essential building block for life, from the subsurface ocean of Saturns little moon, Enceladus. Liquid water appears from the moons subsurface ocean, forming a plume that contains grains of frozen ocean water. A few of these ice grains go on to form Saturns E ring. The group analyzed Cassini spacecraft data from ice grains in the E ring, which revealed finger prints of soluble phosphate salts from Enceladus ocean. Credit: Cassini Imaging Team/SSI/JPL/ SWRI/ Freie Universität Berlin
Southwest Research Institute assisted discover evidence for phosphorus in the liquid water ocean beneath the moons icy surface area.
The search for extraterrestrial life in our solar system just got more amazing. A group of researchers consisting of Southwest Research Institutes Dr. Christopher Glein has actually discovered brand-new proof that the subsurface ocean of Saturns moon Enceladus includes an essential foundation for life. The group directly spotted phosphorus in the kind of phosphates stemming from the moons ice-covered worldwide ocean utilizing information from NASAs Cassini mission. Cassini explored Saturn and its system of rings and moons for over 13 years.
” In 2020 (released in 2022), we utilized geochemical modeling to predict that phosphorus ought to be plentiful in Enceladus ocean,” stated Glein, a leading professional in extraterrestrial oceanography. He is a co-author of a paper in the journal Nature describing this research. “Now, we have actually found abundant phosphorus in plume ice samples spraying out of the subsurface ocean.”
