A team of scientists has discovered new evidence that the subterranean ocean of Saturn’s moon Enceladus contains phosphorus, an essential building block for life.
The team used data from the mission Cassini Ha NASAwho discovered it Saturn and its system of rings and moons for more than 13 years. The spacecraft has discovered groundwater on Enceladus Samples were analyzed from a cloud of ice and grains From gases emitted from cracks in the icy surface of the moon.
An analysis of a class of salt-rich ice grains showed that The presence of sodium phosphate.
«We found abundant phosphorus in samples from the ice plume from the subsurface oceansays Christopher Glenn, a leading expert in extraterrestrial oceanography at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio and one of the authors of a paper in the journal Nature describing the research.
the phosphorous In the form of phosphate it is vital to all life on Earth. It is needed to create DNA and RNAenergy-carrying molecules, cell membranes, bones and teeth in humans and animals, and even the plankton microbiome.
«We found phosphate concentrations at least 100 times higher in the waters of the lunar feather-forming oceans than in Earth’s oceans.Glenn explains, adding:This is a surprising result for Astrobiology and a huge step forward in the search for life beyond Earth».
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