Now we need to go to the moon to 'see if a habitable ocean is actually inhabited', one of the scientists behind the discovery says.
, He and his team's simulations show that the moon's ocean should have an abundance of dissolved phosphorus — an essential ingredient for life here on Earth."Enceladus is one of the prime targets in humanity's search for life in our solar system," Glein, co-author of a"In the years since NASA's Cassini spacecraft visited the Saturn system," he continued, "we have been repeatedly blown away by the discoveries made possible by the collected data.
Interior water worlds are much more common than worlds like Earth, where the ocean makes up much of the planet's surface. This is because planets like Earth must land in a narrow habitable zone away from their sun. On the other hand, interior water worlds hide their oceans between thick sheets of ice. But that doesn't mean microbial life can't reside in those oceans.
Those findings, Glein explained, make the next step very clear: "We need to get back to Enceladus to see if a habitable ocean is actually inhabited."