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Cassini Could Find Signs of Life on Enceladus

Posted by kdawson on from the buddy-can-you-spare-some-methane dept.

New Scientist reviews the possibility that the Cassini probe might be repurposed to look for signs of life on Saturn's enigmatic moon Enceladus. "[Enceladus' water vapor] plume's origin is still being debated, but some models suggest the moon holds an ocean of liquid water beneath its surface. This ocean could be a potential habitat for extraterrestrial life. ... Though the probe was never designed to look for life, it could do so by studying organic chemicals such as methane in the plume, the team says."

14 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. Just imagine what could be there by ptbob · · Score: 2, Interesting

    With all the weird things we find on Earth, I wonder what could be in that water?

    1. Re:Just imagine what could be there by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Cells? Hell, I'd be happy with the discovery of precursors to amino acids and proteins. we have a lot to learn about how environments effect change as well as which envronments can and cannot spawn life.

      When people hypothesize about life forming on earth, they mention catalysts such as lightning strikes or volcanoes jump-starting chemical reactions. Not a far stretch of imagination given the thermophilic and cryophilic bacteria here on earth. Unfortunately, I don't think we should expect to find anything profound until we can load ourselves into a rocket, go there ourselves, and hope that we can return and analyze our samples without contaminating them.

    2. Re:Just imagine what could be there by Gat0r30y · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The problem here is that right now we only have the one data point for the formation of life (our lonely blue marble). So we really haven't got a good idea of what is suitable for the formation of life, and so far our approach has been to assume that it must be pretty darn close to what we have here.

      --
      Prediction: The real iPhone killer is going to be sex robots from Japan. Think about it.
    3. Re:Just imagine what could be there by Smauler · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Don't assume life will automatically exist where there is water and light. Just because the conditions for life are there, doesn't mean it's not a massive improbability that it starts. If the start of life was easy, we would have replicated it centuries ago. Personally, I would be very suprised if we see life in our solar system (apart from Earth). I do still hope to be suprised though... but not by a face consuming alien killer virus, obviously.

    4. Re:Just imagine what could be there by MightyMartian · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It's difficult to say whether it's improbable or not. We know that some pretty damned neat chemistry can take place where you have liquid water, complex organic compounds and a good source of energy. There are a number of bodies in the solar system that now appear to have at least the water and energy, and finding amino acids and other organic compounds in cometary bodies is a pretty good indicator that places like Enceladus and Europa probably have their fair share as well. The real difficulty is these worlds have really thick layers of ice, so getting a sample of what's in the oceans beneath would be a trick.

      --
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    5. Re:Just imagine what could be there by sznupi · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Problem is even bigger - our only data point shows us the place FEW BILLION YEARS after formation of first life here; which greatly affected the environment (presence of free oxygen, carbon cycle in the atmosphere regulating global climate, and so on...).

      Therefore, contrary to what you say in your last sentence, we can't assume at all that what is suitable for the formation of life is close to what we have here...simply because conditions on early Earth, when life formed, were so vastly different (and we're not sure EXACTLY what they were...)

      Actually, it's fairly safe to assume that, while current conditions on Earth are a good indication of presence of "old" organic life, they might actually hinder birth of new life (excluding memes taking over genes to such a degree that life becomes "technological")

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  2. Sounds nice but.... by blackholepcs · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The only problem with stories like this is that we either don't actually do it, or we DO do it and get results that tell us nothing useful (as far as the question of E.T. life). Why can't they just :

    1. Design and build rover/robot/probe whose sole task is to find and identify life on another planet/moon/whatever.
    2. Deploy said rover/robot/probe.
    3. Get definitive answer - Yes there is/yes there was actual life here, or No there isn't/no there wasn't actual life here.
    4. Rinse and repeat.

    Seriously, why is that so hard?

    --
    Halitosis - (n.) Halle Berry's Camel Toe.
    1. Re:Sounds nice but.... by internerdj · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Because ET life believers have been painted as nutjobs because of the outspoken ones who had ahem "close" encounters with ET life. Scientifically speaking it is certainly probable we could find something else, getting emotional taxpayers to fund something is an entirely different story. Especially with step 4.

    2. Re:Sounds nice but.... by argent · · Score: 4, Interesting

      How do you know when you've found life?

      How do you distinguish between life and unusual chemical reactions?

      Sure, if a gnarled humanoid pops up and waves a glowing finger at you, you've found life, but what happens if you just find a brown stain that seems to be producing oxygen? Is it alive or a permanganate salt?

  3. Extra-terrestrials living in the oceans by mfh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Extra-terrestrials will taste good with some fava beans, and a nice Chianti.

    --
    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
    1. Re:Extra-terrestrials living in the oceans by Coraon · · Score: 2, Interesting

      actually if its living in cold water and it is on the primitive scale my guess is it'll look like a freaky lobster, so it will probably go better with a white wine and a nice butter sauce...

      --
      -Ours is the wisdom of Solomon, the magic of Merlyn, the fall of Icaris.
  4. Laughed at in college by Mr.+McGibby · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wrote a paper in a college astronomy course where I speculated that Enceladus might have life given the water there. I was given a lower grade because of it.

    Vindication is sweet.

    --
    Mad Software: Rantings on Developing So
    1. Re:Laughed at in college by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I wrote a paper in a college astronomy course where I speculated that Enceladus might have life given the water there. I was given a lower grade because of it. Vindication [of the idea] is sweet.

      The founder of Federal Express allegedly got a "C" for the company's idea outlined in an economics project.
           

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  5. Re:Misleading Summary by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Interesting

    In fact, Enceladus has become (with Titan) one of the most important mission objectives for Cassini.

    One downside to the life idea is that some speculate that Enceladus's warm condition may be periodic due to a recent but no-longer-existing orbit arrangement with another moon(s). If this is the case, then the moon may not stay warm long enough for life to get a foothold. While earth life is capable of "hibernating" in frozen conditions between cycles, it probably took a while before it got sophisticated enough to pull such tricks.

    Thus, Jupiter's Europa is still the better bet in my opinion because the source of its heat (for liquid water) is known and fairly stable. As I remember it, simulations show that it's tidal friction with Jup and nearby moons is sufficient to generate needed internal melting. This is not the case with Enceladus. It's heat source is still a mystery.
         

    --
    Table-ized A.I.