Using new geochemical models, SwRI scientists found that CO2 in Enceladus’ ocean may be controlled by chemical reactions at the seafloor. Integrating this finding with previous discoveries of H2 and silica suggests geochemically diverse environments in the rocky core. This diversity has the potential to create energy sources that could support life. Credit: NASA

Orbital geophysical investigations of Enceladus are critical to understand its energy balance. Mapping Enceladus’ gravity field, improving the accuracy of the physical libration amplitude, and measuring Enceladus’ tidal response would provide critical constraints on the internal structure, thus establishing a framework for assessing Enceladus’ long-term habitability.

Anton I. Ermakov, Julie C. Castillo-Rogez, Ryan S. Park, Christophe Sotin, Joseph Lazio, Samuel M. Howell, James T. Keane, Douglas J. Hemingway, Francis Nimmo, Edwin Kite, Vishnu Viswanathan, Gregor Steinbrügge, Gabriel Tobie, Valery Lainey

Comments: 7 pages, 1 figure. A white paper submitted to the Committee on the Planetary Science Decadal Survey (2023-2032) of The National Academies of Sciences
Subjects: Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Geophysics (physics.geo-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2008.02887 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:2008.02887v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)
Submission history
From: Anton Ermakov
[v1] Thu, 6 Aug 2020 22:06:15 UTC (2,204 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.02887
Astrobiology

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp...