Saturn's icy moon Enceladus is best known for its numerous geysers ejecting plumes of water and ice. These eruptive fountains perplex researchers searching for signs of microbial life beyond Earth. A dedicated spacecraft designed to study the plume-like features spewing from Enceladus could definitely tell us whether or not they contain alien microorganisms.
"We need a spacecraft to travel to Enceladus, fly through a geyser plume, and analyze the water that is immediately accessible," Geoffrey Marcy, a retired professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, told Astrowatch.net.
Marcy is a renowned exoplanet researcher who discovered many extrasolar worlds. He was one of the co-investigators of NASA's Kepler planet-hunting mission that detected more than 4,000 exoworlds.
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"The remarkable aspect of the search for microbes in the water spurting from geysers is that the spacecraft only needs to fly through the plume, well above the surface of Enceladus. No lander is needed—just a succession of flybys through the plumes as it orbits Enceladus," Marcy said.He noted that such spacecraft should be fitted with a mass spectrometer to detect organic compounds that could be signs of microbial life. The spectrometer will look for amino acids and the structure of any organic molecules, especially fatty acids such as those composing cell membranes. It could also measure the relative amounts of isotopes of carbon (12 and 14) to detect non-natural anomalies due to biological processes.
Moreover, the mission to Enceladus would measure the properties of the water such as pH, oxidation and temperature, therefore assessing its suitability for organic life.
Marcy believes assembling "a brilliant team of billionaires" is the key to making such a mission possible. Lucky for him the monolith said nothing about Enceladus.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 26 2017, @04:00AM (4 children)
Eat my shorts.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 26 2017, @08:49AM (3 children)
Cannot! Too little! I knew you could not help but respond, oh Runaway of very little brain! Now, tell me what you think of this post! The power of Christ compels you! The power of, oh, fuck it, you just can't help yourself, can you?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday June 26 2017, @09:46AM (2 children)
I respond once more, just to see how goofy your own response can be. You won't let a sleeping dog lie, why should I? Kick that bitch again!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 27 2017, @06:52AM (1 child)
Runaway, this is God. Your comments account for 23.76% of the comments on SoylentNews. In terms of actual information and insight, your comments account for .08%. Do you see a slight discrepancy here? As God, I would appreciate it if you brought these two numbers closer together. You, personally, are throwing off the harmony of creation. Thank you. --Your God
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday June 27 2017, @01:58PM
Fifty some years ago, I prayed for a pony. You didn't deliver. Now, piss off.