2006-03-10 | MISSIONS
Cassini Discovers Potential Liquid Water on Enceladus
NASA's Cassini spacecraft may have found evidence of liquid water reservoirs on Saturn's moon Enceladus. High-resolution images from Cassini show icy jets and towering plumes ejecting large quantities of particles at high speed. After examining models of what may cause the plumes, scientists have concluded that they may be erupting from pockets of liquid water near the moon's surface. Scientists know very little about Enceladus, but Cassini will perform another flyby in the spring of 2008 and collect more data about the small but fascinating moon.
Because life as we know it requires liquid water to survive, finding locations beyond Earth where water exists in liquid form is essential for the search for life in the Solar System.
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from NASA, Mar 10, 2006
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