How_It_Works_Issue_99_2017

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GL BAL EYE Showcasing the incredible world we live in The visible plumes of ice and gas erupt, reaching heights of around 100 kilometres above Enceladus’ surface Enceladus could have the right ingredients for life The presence of hydrogen gas detected inside the Saturnian moon suggests it could be habitable In an announcement in April, NASA revealed that Enceladus, an icy moon that orbits Saturn, contains hydrogen gas, which could provide a chemical energy source for alien life. The hydrogen is produced by hydrothermal activity in the moon’s subterranean oceans and erupts from the surface in icy plumes. Its presence was first detected by NASA’s Cassini probe in 2015 when it took a dive through the icy spray and collected a sample. The probe’s Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer analysed the sample, and the recently published results indicate that it is 98 per cent water, with the other two per cent comprised of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and other molecules. The hydrothermal activity is similar to that which has been observed at vents on Earth’s ocean floors, which help sustain the microbes that live there. The hydrogen is converted into metabolic energy by breaking the bonds between the two atoms within the molecule and combining it with dissolved carbon dioxide in the 006 | How It Works water. The chemical reaction is called methanogenesis and it is believed that this process may have been key to the beginning of life on Earth. The environment on Enceladus may still be too sterile for living organisms, but there is definitely scope in the future to send more missions to the icy moon to look for further evidence of life. Enceladus is only 505 kilometres in diameter – that’s smaller than the length of the UK! Europa has streaks on its surface, which are domains composed of salt and water ice Europa: another habitable world? Jupiter’s moon Europa has also been found to have plumes exploding from its surface. Identified by the Hubble Telescope, more information on the plumes will be collected by future missions to the icy moon. One mission currently in development is the Europa Clipper, which is planned to launch at some point in the 2020’s. It will act as a swift orbiter and is envisioned to complete up to 45 flybys of the moon. Clipper will be loaded up with a range of instruments, including a magnetometer to examine the moon’s magnetic fields and an ice-penetrating radar for 3D inspections of the ice shell. The main aim of the mission is to assess whether Europa is habitable, so the spacecraft will search for evidence of liquid water, chemical ingredients and an energy source such as hydrothermal vents. WWW.HOWITWORKSDAILY.COM
Enceladus’ frozen saltwater oceans could have the ingredients for primitive life © NASA / Jet Propulsion Lab-Caltech / SETI Institute WWW.HOWITWORKSDAILY.COM How It Works | 007
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