Abundant phosphorus expected for possible life in Enceladus's ocean
Abstract
Enceladus is one of the prime targets in the search for life in the solar system. Observations made by the Cassini spacecraft show that this small moon of Saturn has an ice-covered water ocean that erupts into space, forming a plume that contains almost all of the basic requirements of terrestrial life. However, the bioessential element phosphorus has yet to be found. Here, we perform geochemical modeling, constrained by Cassini data, to predict how much phosphorus could be present in the Enceladus ocean. These models suggest that Enceladus's ocean should be relatively rich in dissolved phosphorus. This means that there can now be greater confidence that the ocean of Enceladus is habitable.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- September 2022
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2022PNAS..11901388H