The latest research shows that Enceladus contains high levels of phosphorus and is expected to have terrestrial life.

Thanks to CTOnews.com netizen for the clue delivery of rain and snow! CTOnews.com A joint team of researchers from Europe, the United States and Japan recently published the results of an analysis showing high concentrations of phosphorus in the oceans of Saturn's moon Enceladus. Phosphorus is essential for life on Earth, raising expectations that Earth-like life could exist on Enceladus. The paper will be published today in the journal Nature.

Enceladus, about 500 kilometers in diameter, is an icy object with thick ice on its surface and a liquid ocean beneath it. Seawater contains salt, carbon dioxide and organic matter and is often seen as the cradle of life.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft collected ice particles entrained in Enceladus 'sea water, which gushes into space like a geyser through cracks in the ice, and obtained data on its composition. After analyzing the data in detail, the team found that it contained hundreds of times more phosphorus than Earth's oceans, in the form of water-soluble phosphates.

The researchers say this is the first time phosphorus has been found in an ocean outside Earth, so it is significant. In general, the six chemical elements necessary for all living things are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus, with phosphorus being the least needed. Nevertheless, phosphorus is the basic element of DNA structure and plays an important role in the formation of life.

Enceladus is about one-seventh the size of the moon, sixth in Saturn's 146 known natural satellites, and an important target for humans in the current search for space outside Earth in the solar system. Another target is Europa, which is much larger and also harbors a global liquid ocean beneath its ice.

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