Enceladus discoveries

Until recently, nobody knew why the brightest world in our solar system was this small moon orbiting the 5th planet from the sun. It turns out that Enceladus shines so bright thanks to an icy shell covering it from pole to pole. Beneath this coat of frost, lies a salty ocean of liquid water. Here, hydrothermal vents, driven by volcanic activity and a gravitational tug-of-war may create conditions just right for unknown life forms.

Enceladus discoveries have changed the direction of planetary science.
- Linda Spilker, Cassini Project Scientist

Cassini photograph of Enceladus: October 28, 2015

(NASA/JPL)

The Cassini spacecraft started flying past Enceladus in 2005 and we began learning unprecedented amounts of information about this distant moon.  Prior to this, nobody really understood how the sixth largest moon of Saturn related to the famous E ring of the planet.  There is still so much to learn.  Over then next decade, the Cassini spacecraft would visit again and again, to find Enceladus to be a destination of incredible scientific potential.  Jets of water vapor, ice, and debris spew with torrential force from deep beneath the frozen surface of this remote outpost.  In the presence of heat and water, we must wonder if life has ever been there in the past or could exist there even now.


We do not yet know the answers to these questions.  “If life is eventually discovered in Enceladus’ ocean by a mission after Cassini, then our Enceladus discoveries will have been among the top discoveries for all planetary missions.” - Linda Spilker, Cassini Project Scientist


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