[Journal of Virology]. Biogeochemical models have become critical for answering questions about the habitability of ocean worlds, especially that of early Earth.
Enceladus
Posted inEnceladus
The Enceladian Crater Production Function
[Icarus] Interpreting Enceladus’s past and present surface history and interior state remains challenging, owing to uncertain prescription of its impact bombardment history and limited interpretation of its crater statistics.
Posted inIcy Worlds
SwRI Simulations Indicate That Large Impacts May Limit Ocean Formation In Icy Moons
[SwRI] Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists provided simulations to understand the role disruptive impacts play on icy moons with subsurface oceans in our solar system.
Posted inEnceladus
The Enceladian Crater Production Function
[astro-ph.EP]. Interpreting Enceladus’s past and present surface history and interior state remains challenging, owing to uncertain prescription of its impact bombardment history and limited interpretation of its crater statistics. Further […]
Community Workshop: The Mission to Enceladus – The ESA L4 Mission
The community workshop at ESTEC focused on “The Mission to Enceladus – The ESA L4 Mission” will be held at ESTEC December 8-10, 2026. The workshop will have a dual […]
![(a) Schematic of Europan ice-ocean system [related image in 11]. (b) Map of sea surface temperature (◦C) showing the transition between the temperature-stratified North Atlantic Ocean and the salt-stratified Arctic Ocean; (c) Potential temperature (left) and salinity (right) profiles with depth from location near the North Pole. Different water-mass characteristics are labeled. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/What-can.png?resize=1200%2C582&ssl=1)
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
What Can Planetary Ice Shells Teach Us about Ocean Mixing and Life, and Why Salt Matters
[astro-ph.EP] Past and present climates, both on Earth and in planetary systems, maintain ice covers with underlying oceans. This can range from sea ice in the Arctic Ocean to global […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Methanotrophy Under Extreme Alkalinity In A Serpentinizing System
[Nature] Serpentinization produces hyperalkaline, H2– and CH4-rich fluids that support microbial life and serve as analogs for ocean worlds such as Enceladus. While methane production in these systems has been […]
Posted inIcy Worlds
Dynamic Controls On Subsurface Water Chemistry And Habitability On Icy Moons
Icy moons are natural satellites whose surfaces contain a substantial fraction of frozen materials, most notably water ice.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Trajectory Design For A Titan-Enceladus Plume Sampling Pseudo-orbiter Mission
The exploration of the Saturnian system, and in particular the plumes and subsurface ocean of Enceladus, has been identified as a key science theme for ESA’s Voyage 2050 program.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Tidal Rock Grinding As A Source Of H2 On Enceladus
The Solar System hosts multiple potentially habitable environments, including the subsurface ocean beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.