Saturn’s moon Enceladus may host a stable ocean fit for life
Enceladus rising beyond Saturn’s rings. Credit: NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. NASA’s Cassini mission has shown that Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, is losing heat from both poles – suggesting it could support life. A new study led by researchers from...
Titan discovery challenges view on chemistry before life
Researchers have long been interested in Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, and its icy environment, which harbours lakes, seas, sand dunes and a thick atmosphere full of nitrogen, methane, and complex carbon-based chemistry. Titan share some commonality with the early...
Hot springs give insight into ancient microbial life on Earth
A close-up picture of the sediment and rocks of one of five hot springs during low tide, showing iron oxide mineral precipitates. Credit: Fatima Li-Hau, ELSI. CC BY-NC-ND. New research centred on hot springs in Japan is giving rare insights into how ancient microbial...