Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Could Resemble Earth's 'Lost City'

Saturn's unusual moon Enceladus could reportedly bear a likeness to the Lost City on our planet, which is basically a hydrothermal vent network in the Atlantic Ocean. The under ocean area is quite intriguing because life survives there spite of it being dark and cold.

Surface liquid water is a phenomenon that can be only noticed on Earth, among the entire known solar system. Though many dwarf planets and moons in our star system have water, it remains hidden beneath their crust. Enceladus is in a league of its own, because liquid is spurted from the interior into space from the large gashes on its south pole. Therefore, as per a report, scientists find the moon really interesting and hope to target Enceladus to search for extraterrestrial life.

Researchers have identified at least 11 individual jets that shoot out water from the moon's southern pole, in a considerable stretch of area which is 130 kilometers long and where the fissures look like tiger stripes. Initially, the scientists had thought that the water feeding the tiger stripes originated from the small sea under them. It was only later, that researchers found out about the presence of a global ocean lurking beneath the surface of Enceladus, owing to the analysis of the gravitational data revealed by the Cassini mission.

The tiny particles of water vapor mixed with water ice were being carried upward by bright plumes. However, at that point no one knew what else was being carried by the stripes. Interestingly, scientists didn't have to make a detailed investigation to know the answer as Enceladus spurted samples into space which was tested by the Cassini spacecraft. The findings indicated that Enceladus had salts which came from a liquid ocean that flash freezes rapidly.

"We want to use chemistry as our guide to looking for signs of life," said Christopher Glein, research scientist from Texas's Southwest Research Institute. "Is there life beyond Earth?" Our generation is now poised to begin to tackle and search for some answers". Incidentally, Glein compared the undersea of Enceladus to Atlantic Ocean's Lost City hydrothermal field, a region where warm water bursts from the ocean bed and life flourishes despite of it being a desolate area.

In addition to providing heat, the vents of the Lost City also give out methane and hydrogen rich fluids which help microorganisms flourish, and such sites which boast of a combination of geological, chemical and biological processes are prime areas where life evolved. Therefore, according to the researchers if serpentization powered similar vents on Saturn's moon then life could originate there. At the moment, the researching team is conducting further studies and also awaiting the analysis by Cassini.