NASA took an important step toward determining if conditions on Saturn's moon Enceladus are theoretically favorable to simple life forms.
The space agency confirmed in a news release Friday the Cassini spacecraft completed a flyby just 30 miles above the moon's south pole and through a geyser. Based on Cassini's previous discoveries, mission managers determined Enceladus is covered in an ocean beneath an icy exterior.
Cassini performed the flyby Oct. 28 and collected samples of gas and dust from the plume. Though it may be a matter of weeks, scientists associated with the Cassini mission will now review the results from spacecraft's onboard gas analyzer.
"Cassini's stunning images are providing us a quick look at Enceladus from this ultra-close flyby, but some of the most exciting science is yet to come," Linda Spilker, the mission's project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said in the release.
NASA scientists will look out for molecular hydrogen in the samples Cassini collected because it will give an indication of Enceladus' hydrothermal activity, ABC News noted. While Cassini itself cannot track down life forms on the moon, hydrothermal activity can be an indicator for simple life forms.
"[The] analyses are likely to take several weeks, but should provide important insights about the composition of the global ocean beneath Enceladus' surface and any hydrothermal activity occurring on the ocean floor," NASA stated in its release. "The potential for such activity in this small ocean world has made Enceladus a prime target for future exploration in search of habitable environments in the solar system beyond Earth."
