Enceladus Archives

Astrogeology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Modifications Of SPH Towards Three-dimensional Simulations Of An Icy Moon With Internal Ocean

by Keith CowingOctober 30, 2024October 30, 2024

There are some traces of the existence of internal ocean in some icy moons, such as the vapor plumes of Europa and Enceladus. This implies a region of liquid water […]

This image is a simulation of how NASA's Europa Clipper will understand which areas of the Jovian moon Europa are warm and active by studying the moon's thermal emissions. larger image

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Simulated View of Thermal Emissions from Europa

by Keith CowingOctober 21, 2024October 21, 2024

Scientists based this image on a model of data from NASA’s Galileo mission and data from an instrument on NASA’s Cassini mission that studied warm regions of Saturn’s moon Enceladus […]

A schematic diagram of the sulfur cycle on the icy Galilean moons. Not all processes operate on all moons and the circles with E, G, and C indicate which processes seem to be more restricted to Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, respectively. Ice radiolysis happens on all icy surfaces and reactions of radiolytically produced H2SO4 can transform brine salts to sulfates. Only for Europa and Callisto the subsurface ocean is likely to be in contact with the rocky ocean floor but not for Ganymede, where massive dense ice layers prevents ongoing exchange of the subsurface with the silicates. The ocean compositions seem to be all quite similar in the beginning, and Ganymede’s ocean might be the oldest ur-ocean remaining since isolation by dense ice. Subsurface oceans on Europa and Callisto can evolve depending on silicate mantle outgassing into the oceans which may increase salinity over time. On Europa acidification from radiolytically produced H2SO4 may happen, which could lead to an ocean with compositional gradients and pH and development of a halocline. This diagram does not claim completeness and is an attempt to summarize observations, ideas and interpretations. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Neptune, Saturn, Status Report, Titan, Uranus

Sulfur in the Giant Planets, their Moons, and Extrasolar Gas Giant Planets

by Keith CowingOctober 18, 2024October 18, 2024

We review sulfur chemistry of the gas giant planets and their moons where sulfur compounds are observed. The major S-bearing gas in the upper atmospheres of the giant planets is […]

Polymetallic nodules, also called manganese nodules, on the floor of the Pacific Ocean; surprising new research suggests deep sea rocks are capable of producing oxygen without help from plants or the sun. Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Geomar Bilddatenbank/ROV KIEL 6000, GEOMAR

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Oxygen Produced In The Deep Sea Raises Questions About Extraterrestrial Life

by Keith CowingAugust 27, 2024August 27, 2024

Over 12,000 feet below the surface of the sea, in a region of the Pacific Ocean known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), million-year-old rocks cover the seafloor. These rocks may […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Saturn, Status Report, Tethys, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Evolution Of A Young Ocean Within Mimas

by Keith CowingAugust 19, 2024October 7, 2025

The fractured, young surfaces on confirmed ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus suggest that ocean-bearing moons with relatively thin overlying ice shells should be easy to identify. Hence, the […]

Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

NIAC 2020 Phase II Selection: Enceladus Vent Explorer

by Keith CowingAugust 19, 2024August 17, 2024

Enceladus Vent Explorer (EVE) is a robotic mission to enter an Enceladus. Her mission objective is to collect samples of ocean water that could contain intact organisms (i.e., cells) to […]

Polymetallic nodules on the seafloor -- NOAA

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dwellers In The Deep: Biological Consequences Of Dark Oxygen

by Keith CowingAugust 15, 2024August 15, 2024

The striking recent putative detection of “dark oxygen” (dark O2) sources on the abyssal ocean floor in the Pacific at ∼4 km depth raises the intriguing scenario that complex (i.e., […]

This view of Jupiter's icy moon Europa was captured by JunoCam, the public engagement camera aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The picture is a composite of JunoCam's second, third, and fourth images taken during the flyby, as seen from the perspective of the fourth image. North is to the left. The images have a resolution of just over 0.5 to 2.5 miles per pixel (1 to 4 kilometers per pixel). As with our Moon and Earth, one side of Europa always faces Jupiter, and that is the side of Europa visible here. Europa's surface is crisscrossed by fractures, ridges, and bands, which have erased terrain older than about 90 million years. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill processed the images to enhance the color and contrast. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Radiation, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Biosignatures Could Survive Near The Surfaces of Enceladus and Europa

by Keith CowingJuly 23, 2024July 22, 2024

Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, have evidence of oceans beneath their ice crusts. A NASA experiment suggests that if these oceans support life, signatures […]

This enhanced color view of Saturn's moon Enceladus shows the south polar terrain, where jets of material spray out form long cracks called Tiger Stripes. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Sub-Micrometer Particles Remote Detection in Enceladus Plume Based on Cassinni’s UV Spectrograph Data

by Keith CowingJuly 20, 2024July 7, 2024

Enceladus is the Saturnian satellite known to have water vapor erupting from its south pole region called Tiger Stripes.

ROV Jason’s manipulator arm (©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Simulations Show How Low Gravity On Ocean Worlds Might Help To Sustain Warm Water Circulation For Millions Of Years

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2024July 1, 2024

A new study led by team members at UC Santa Cruz have used a complex computer model to investigate how the influence of low gravity, as found on ocean worlds […]