Discover phosphorous on Saturn’s moon Enceladus

Scientists have spent years studying Enceladus and its ice fountains to understand the mysterious sea beneath the ice. On Wednesday, the researchers shared an exciting discovery: Thus evaluating data collected by a spacecraft as it flew through Enceladus’ frozen aerosol particles. And it was in these tiny samples floating from the ocean that they found evidence of phosphorus for the first time.

This discovery is of great importance because phosphorus is an important building block for life. It suggests that beneath the icy surface of Enceladus are the chemical building blocks for potentially life-friendly conditions. The presence of liquid water and now phosphorous has intrigued scientists and raised the question about the possibility of extraterrestrial life in our solar system.

Further exploration and analysis of Enceladus will provide more insight into the possible existence of life beyond Earth. Enceladus now appears to be at the forefront of these studies.

“We’ve already found that Enceladus’ ocean is rich in a wide variety of organic compounds,” Frank Postberg, a planetary scientist at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany, who led the new study, said in an interview with Nature.

«But now this new result shows a clear chemical signature of large quantities of phosphorous salts (…). It is the first time that this essential element has been discovered in an ocean outside Earth.”