Ocean world near Saturn top contender for life beyond Earth
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A tiny, ice-encrusted ocean world orbiting Saturn is now a hotter-than-ever candidate for potential life. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected hydrogen molecules in the geysers shooting off the moon Enceladus, possibly the result of deep-sea chemical reactions between water and rock that could spark microbial life, scientists announced Thursday. NASA and others are quick to point out this latest discovery does not mean there’s life on Enceladus (ehn-SEHL’-uh-duhs), but that there may be conditions favorable for life. A liquid ocean exists beneath the icy surface of Enceladus, which is barely 300 miles (500 kilometers) across....
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