Earth microbes remained viable in a laboratory medium…
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Earth microbes remained viable in a laboratory medium designed to simulate one possible chemical environment in the subsurface ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, according to a newly reported study. 🔬
The experiment used terrestrial organisms and a modelled salt formulation, so it does not show that life exists on Enceladus. It instead identifies microbial traits that could tolerate alkaline, low-nutrient conditions similar to those inferred for the moon’s ocean.
Cassini observations have already found a global subsurface ocean, a south-polar plume, organic material and signs of water–rock chemistry. The plume is important because it lets spacecraft sample material linked to the ocean without drilling through the ice.
The result adds context for interpreting possible biosignatures and for preventing contamination during future exploration. A proposed European Space Agency L4 concept would pair a Saturn orbiter with a lander at Enceladus’s south pole, though the report said launch is proposed for about 2042 and arrival would be in the 2050s. 🪐
https://nutanica.com/Enceladus
The experiment used terrestrial organisms and a modelled salt formulation, so it does not show that life exists on Enceladus. It instead identifies microbial traits that could tolerate alkaline, low-nutrient conditions similar to those inferred for the moon’s ocean.
Cassini observations have already found a global subsurface ocean, a south-polar plume, organic material and signs of water–rock chemistry. The plume is important because it lets spacecraft sample material linked to the ocean without drilling through the ice.
The result adds context for interpreting possible biosignatures and for preventing contamination during future exploration. A proposed European Space Agency L4 concept would pair a Saturn orbiter with a lander at Enceladus’s south pole, though the report said launch is proposed for about 2042 and arrival would be in the 2050s. 🪐
https://nutanica.com/Enceladus
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