Since the discovery of an ice-particle plume erupting from the south polar terrain on Saturn’s moon Enceladus (Porco et al., 2006; Spahn et al., 2006; Spencer et al., 2006), the […]
Enceladus
Posted inEnceladus, Press Release
Tidal Friction Could Power Enceladus' Ocean For Billions Of Years
Enough heat to power hydrothermal activity inside Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus for billions of years could be generated through tidal friction if the moon has a highly porous core, a […]
Posted inEnceladus, Press Release
An Instrument to Study the Plumes of Enceladus
NASA scientists and engineers have conceived and plan to build an ambitious submillimeter-wave or radio instrument to study the composition of geysers spewing water vapor and icy particles from the […]
Posted inEnceladus
Ground-based Detection of a Cloud of Methanol from Enceladus: When is a Biomarker Not a Biomarker?
Saturn’s moon Enceladus has vents emerging from a sub-surface ocean, offering unique probes into the liquid environment. These vents drain into the larger neutral torus in orbit around Saturn. We […]
Posted inEnceladus, Europa, Press Release
A Novel Strategy to Seek Bio-signatures at Enceladus and Europa
A laboratory experiment is suggested in which conditions similar to those in the plume ejecta from Enceladus and, perhaps, Europa are established. Using infrared spectroscopy and polarimetry, the experiment might […]
Posted inEnceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds
Hydrothermal Activity in The Seas of Enceladus: Implications For Habitable Zones
On Thursday NASA will announce evidence that hydrothermal activity on the floor of an ice-covered ocean on Saturn’s moon Enceladus is most likely creating methane from carbon dioxide. The process […]
Posted inEnceladus, Press Release
Acoustic Properties of Glacial ice for Neutrino Detection and the Enceladus Explorer
Ultra high energy neutrinos may be observed in ice by the emission of acoustic signals. The SPATS detector has investigated the possibility of observing GZK-neutrinos in the clear ice near […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
THEO Concept Mission: Testing the Habitability of Enceladus's Ocean
Saturn’s moon Enceladus offers a unique opportunity in the search for life and habitable environments beyond Earth, a key theme of the National Research Council’s 2013-2022 Decadal Survey. A plume […]
Posted inEnceladus
Cassini Finds Global Ocean in Saturn's Moon Enceladus
A global ocean lies beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s geologically active moon Enceladus, according to new research using data from NASA’s Cassini mission. Researchers found the magnitude of the […]
Posted inEnceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Within Enceladus May Harbor Hydrothermal Activity
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has provided scientists the first clear evidence that Saturn’s moon Enceladus exhibits signs of present-day hydrothermal activity which may resemble that seen in the deep oceans on […]