James Webb Telescope Discovers Rare Scene From Saturn's Moon

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered Saturn's moon Enceladus spewing out a giant plume of water vapor, much larger than any seen before.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured this image of water vapor plumes rising from the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus. (Photo: NASA/Nature).

In 2005, NASA spacecraft detected ice particles ejecting from the ocean on the surface of Enceladus through cracks. However, the James Webb Space Telescope has just found that these ice particles are ejecting much farther than previously estimated , Nature reported on May 18.

'It's huge ,' said astronomer Sara Faggi, who said scientific research on the matter will be published soon.

The moon Enceladus excites astrobiologists because it is one of the few good places for humanity to search for life beyond Earth.

The salty ocean beneath Enceladus's icy outer shell could harbor living organisms. The oceans could be sustained by chemical energy at hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor.

Material ejected from Enceladus, primarily through cracks in its south pole, is a direct link to the possibility of extraterrestrial ecosystems.

The findings from the James Webb Space Telescope could provide further clues for NASA missions to the moon Enceladus to search for signs of life. One proposal is to develop autonomous snake robots that could crawl under Enceladus's icy crust to explore its ocean.