High concentrations of phosphorus, an essential element for all biological processes on Earth, have been detected in ice crystals spewed from the interior ocean of Saturn's moon Enceladus, adding to its potential to harbor life, researchers reported on Wednesday.
The discovery was based on data collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, the first to orbit Saturn, during its 13-year landmark exploration of the gaseous giant planet, its rings and its moons from 2004 to 2017.
But phosphorus, the least abundant of six chemical elements considered necessary to all living things - the others are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur - was still missing from the equation until now. The latest study stems from measurements taken by Cassini as it flew through salt-rich ice grains ejected into space from geysers erupting from the subsurface ocean beneath Enceladus' frozen crust at its south pole.
Another is Jupiter's larger moon Europa, which also is believed to harbor a global ocean of liquid water beneath its icy surface.
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