Enceladus' Subsurface Energy Source: What It Means for Search for Life
http://www.space.com/36469-enceladus-energy-souce-search-for-life.html
A space mission that could hunt for definitive signs of life on Saturn's moon Enceladus looks even more enticing
following the release of new evidence that a habitable environment lies under the surface of this icy world.
The surface of Enceladus consists of a solid ice layer that is estimated to have an average thickness of 11 to 14
miles (18 to 22 kilometers), and that covers a massive, liquid-water ocean. The new study indicates that the floor
of Enceladus' ocean likely features hot water vents, similar to the ones that host lush ecosystems at the bottom
of Earth's oceans. The alien ocean also features a type of molecule frequently used as a food supply by life-forms
on Earth, the study said.
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Flying toward Enceladus' plumes (animation) | The Planetary Society
http://www.planetary.org/multimedia/space-images/saturn/flying-toward-enceladus.html
5 years ago today: FLYING TOWARD ENCELADUS' PLUMES
Cassini took this sequence of photos of Enceladus' south polar plumes as it approached
for its super close flyby on April 14, 2012.
