Tag: Cassini
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Does Saturn’s Moon Mimas Hide a Subsurface Ocean? A New Case for a Young Ocean
Introduction: A developing case for an ocean on Mimas Saturn’s small but storied moon Mimas may be harboring a subsurface ocean beneath a thick icy shell. Recent analyses, built on data from NASA’s Cassini mission and advanced modeling, suggest that the moon’s crust could be thin enough in certain regions to host liquid water not…
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Could Saturn’s Moon Mimas Hide a Newborn Ocean? A Mission in the Making
Is Mimas Hosting a Newborn Ocean? Saturn’s moon Mimas, long famous for its ominous “Death Star” crater Herschel, may be hiding a newborn ocean beneath its icy shell. New analyses of Cassini data, combined with advances in modeling tidal heating, suggest that the moon’s ice shell could have melted recently enough to form a liquid…
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Mimas Ocean: Evidence for a Subsurface Sea in Saturn’s Moon
The Case for a Newborn Ocean on Mimas The idea that Saturn’s moon Mimas might host a subsurface ocean has moved from speculation to a serious scientific hypothesis. Researchers analyzing Cassini data and applying models of ice-shell behavior found that Mimas could possess an ocean buried under 12 to 19 miles (20–30 kilometers) of solid…
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Enceladus Organic Molecules Hint at Life Potential
Enceladus and the Search for Life’s Building Blocks Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus has long fascinated scientists with the possibility that it hosts a subsurface ocean. Even though NASA’s Cassini mission ended in 2017, researchers continue to squeeze new insights from its vast archive. The latest analyses bolster the case that Enceladus isn’t just a cold,…
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Enceladus Organics Hint at Possible Life on Saturn’s Moon
A Hidden Ocean and Organic Clues The icy moon Enceladus keeps revealing surprises about its watery interior. Although the Cassini mission ended in 2017, scientists are still mining its archived data for hidden clues. In 2005, Cassini detected plumes of water vapor shooting from fractures near Enceladus’ south polar region. The prevailing interpretation is that…
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Organic Molecules on Enceladus Hint at Possible Life in Its Subsurface Ocean
New Evidence from a Legacy Mission Decades after NASA’s Cassini spacecraft concluded its Saturn mission in 2017, researchers are still mining the archive for clues about one of the Solar System’s most intriguing bodies: Enceladus, Saturn’s icy moon. A recent, meticulous reanalysis of Cassini data strengthens the case that Enceladus harbors a subsurface ocean capable…
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More Ingredients for Life Discovered in Enceladus Ocean
Enceladus: A Tiny Moon with a Big Scientific Potential Hidden beneath the icy shell of Saturn’s moon Enceladus lies an ocean that has captivated scientists for years. The Cassini mission first revealed plumes of water venting from the moon’s south polar region, ejecting tiny ice grains into space and hinting at a dynamic, liquid-water interior.…
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More Ingredients for Life Found in Enceladicus Ocean
Enceladus Ocean Abounds with Organics, Hinting at Life The ocean hidden beneath Enceladus’s icy shell is rich in complex organic molecules, including precursors to amino acids, according to a new study. The discovery adds to a growing body of evidence that Saturn’s small moon could host the chemistry necessary for life, turning a distant ice…
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More ingredients for life discovered in ocean on Saturn moon Enceladus
New findings renew the case for a habitable Enceladus The ocean hidden beneath the icy shell of Saturn’s moon Enceladus continues to surprise scientists. A study published in Nature Astronomy reports that the subsurface sea hosts a suite of complex organic molecules — the kinds that, in the right environmental conditions, could be the building…
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Enceladus Ocean Chemistry Proves Complex Organics, Cassini Data Reveal
New evidence of complex chemistry in Enceladus’s ocean A study published in Nature Astronomy re-examines data from NASA’s Cassini mission and confirms that Enceladus’s hidden ocean hosts complex organic chemistry. Fresh ice grains, ejected by jets near the moon’s south pole, carry molecules that point to active, chemistry-rich processes in the ocean itself, strengthening the…