It is possible that life has appeared on the moon Enceladus, which we do not know

Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, is hidden under a dense cover of a deep ocean. Based on the theory of when life began on Earth, the study of this planet is likely to bring about positive signs in the search for life in the universe so far.

Enceladus is one of the surfaces covered by a thick layer of ice and 890 million miles from our Earth. Scientists are now turning their attention to the planet in the hope of finding traces of life in space.

Although the size is only about 1% of the Earth's moon, it has an ocean with water equivalent to 10% of the Earth's water. In addition, some studies of the chemical composition of the water-containing column of material from Enceladus's south pole also show that this is an "ideal" environment for bacteria to grow and proliferate.

Enceladus - the frozen satellite revolves around Saturn.(Photo taken from NASA's Cassini spacecraft).

No one can say with certainty that life exists in a remote and deep ocean compared to such a surface. But according to a study in Nature Astronomy, this mysterious ocean has existed for billions of years - even its lifespan can be compared to that of others.

Talking to Business Insider, Kevin Hand from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory said it was a positive sign of Enceladus' potential to survive in the ocean. Although researchers are not sure how long it will take for life to really exist there, one thing is for sure, the more time it will take, the greater the likelihood of appearing.

The origin of ocean discovery lies under the surface of Enceladus

Scientists have long suspected the existence of an ocean under Enceladus' surface. They argue that radioactive elements can be enough to heat up the planet's core to melt that ice around. Or it was Saturn's gravity that caused Enceladus's core to heat up through a similar phenomenon with the tide on the ground. Even these two processes can take place simultaneously and create an ocean as we see it today.

However, only when NASA launched into space in 2004 could it confirm the existence of the ocean under the surface of Enceladus.

Cassini has been launched into space since 1997 and began flying around Saturn since 2004. During the journey to study the planet and its satellites, Cassini collected and sent Earth information about the surface. covered with Enceladus' ice, approaching and analyzing the liquid samples here, including gases that can nourish bacteria, salt and tiny silica particles from the seabed.

Enceladus has a sea of ​​saltwater - extremely suitable for nourishing life.

After more than a decade of operation before destroying itself by exhausting fuel, Cassini collected and sent a huge source of data back to Enceladus. In 2015, from an analysis of this planet, the first signs of the existence of a subsurface ocean became apparent, laying a solid foundation for the life hypothesis that could exist under the surface. ice,

Another problem researchers are finding is how long the ocean has been.

Like Earth, it takes a billion years to appear life in the most primitive form; billions of years more to make those germs grow, flourish and evolve into plants and animals like today. (The life of the earth is 4.54 billion years, and the fossil of hydrothermal vents is deep in the seabed - the earliest sign of life from 3.77 billion years ago.)

With an ocean of five years less than the ocean on earth, the sign of life will be difficult to find. Therefore, to solve this problem, a group of seven researchers began implementing a project to estimate the life of the ocean under the surface of Enceladus.

Is the porous core a nursery for life?

According to the European Space Agency's data on Enceladus, the planet's core could be 100 times hotter than the heat released by the decay of radioactive elements.

A recent study of the life of the ocean under the surface of Enceladus has gathered all the data related to this planet, mainly taken from Cassini's data, then simulated the planet in 3D. The model examined the amount of heat emitted at Enceladus' core from tidal friction, and where the liquid water would be distributed after millions of years.

With the assumption that Enceladus's rock core must be porous instead of solid, the heat from the aforementioned tidal friction is large enough to form an entire ocean that covers the entire planet.

Enceladus's split 3D model shows that the central heat is the source of maintaining ocean water.

A press release from NASA's jet-propulsion laboratory suggested that the warmth emitted from the core would be enough to keep the ocean's water liquid for tens of millions of years, or billions of years. next. Also, every 25 to 250 million years of ocean water will flow through Enceladus' rock core. That process has great potential to nurture and form the first seeds of life.

Kevin Hand added: "Enceladus' long-term, sustainable geothermal activities are the most positive signs, leading to the localization process, which in turn leads to biochemistry".

The next part is to find out if hydrothermal vents exist in Enceladus' seabed. The result of this search will help "elevate" Enceladus ' position into a potential planet in search of the existence of life in space.

The results of those searches will bring about an exciting and stimulating new perspective. As shared by Linda Spiker, a scientist from the Cassini spacecraft project, at NASA's Motivation and Jet Laboratory, the study of "planets with water like Enceladus in the solar system is a premise. firm for understanding the ocean world - the system of alien planets ".