With the recent discovery of traces of what may or may not be or have been life on Mars, eyes are turning to another world in the solar system which might harbor extraterrestrial life. Old data from the Cassini probe suggests that Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus should be of interest for astrobiologists.

According to Space.com, Cassini, while flying through the residue of water shot out through fissures called “tiger stripes” in Enceladus’s icy “E-ring” exterior, discovered organic molecules, including “precursors for amino acids.”

As with all such announcements of life on other worlds, the inevitable caveat: “It had been unclear whether the organic molecules present in the ring had come from Enceladus' ocean or whether they had been formed by the reactions triggered by the radiation.”

However, Cassini sampled some of the water plumes directly. The same organic molecules, unaffected by radiation, were present. These findings suggest that the warm water ocean beneath the icy surface of Enceladus may well contain extraterrestrial life. However, yet another caveat arose.

© The Hill