Salt Finding From NASA's Cassini Hints at Ocean Within Saturn Moon

Sodium salts point to subsurface ocean on Enceladus

The Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) on board the Cassini spacecraft has found sodium (Na) in varying concentrations in virtually all of its in-situ measurements of the water ice particles in Saturn's E ring. This has important implications for the icy moon Enceladus as the moon's south polar plumes are considered to be the main source of these E-ring water ice particles. In an article published today in Nature, Frank Postberg and colleagues conclude that the amount and type of sodium-bearing minerals found in the CDA measurements strongly favour the presence of a subsurface liquid water reservoir on Enceladus.

The E ring is the largest of Saturn's rings, extending from about 180 000 kilometres to about 2 000 000 kilometres out from Saturn's centre. It is a diffuse ring comprising mostly micron-sized water ice particles. The main source of these particles is considered to be the south polar plumes of the cryo-volcanically active moon Enceladus. The plumes of material originate from vents in the moon's surface ice. Enceladus orbits Saturn within the E ring at an average distance of 283 000 kilometres from the planet and its orbit coincides with the densest and brightest part of the E ring

More information about the Cassini mission is available at http://www.nasa.gov/cassini or http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• NASA
• Cassini-Huygens
• Saturn
• Moon
• Ocean
• European
• Italian
• Space
• Agency
• JPL

[GaunletofDestruction]

We need to send a landing probe here to search for alien life! Screw Europa.

[faredust77]

@graphattic my mistake :)

[graphattic]

@faredust77 No Bob, not yet, water on a Saturns Natural Satelite....

[faredust77]

life in saturns water?

[broad1551]

Water salty or not is made of hydrogen , two of them, and oxygen. Separate via heat like in the gyser and you have oxygen. Think of the bubbles at the bottom of the pan when boiling water. Yep that is oxygen.

[utubeusername7734]

uh....how can they expect to find life without oxygen?

[MasterBORRACHO]

Awesome info. THANKS