Is NASA going to Enceladus?

If endorsed in the upcoming decadal survey and selected by NASA for development, Orbilander wouldn’t launch until 2038 and arrive at Enceladus until at least 2050. Part of that is driven by budget constraints—there’s only so much money to go around—but that’s also when Encleadus’ south pole will be in sunlight.

Is there life on Saturn’s moon Enceladus?

There are some strange things happening at Enceladus. Geysers spray some of its ocean into space—a possible source for Saturn’s E-ring—that NASA spacecraft have confirmed contain some of the ingredients that could support life. However, life needs energy—and Enceladus is also geologically active.

Is Enceladus tectonically dead?

Cassini scientists also found what appeared to be a surprisingly dense cloud of water vapor and ice grains over the south pole, and the flyby helped scientists confirm earlier suspicions that Enceladus is the main source of material for Saturn’s E ring. Clearly, Enceladus was no dead world. It was active.

Does Titan Moon have water?

It is the sole other place in the solar system known to have an earthlike cycle of liquids raining from clouds, flowing across its surface, filling lakes and seas, and evaporating back into the sky (akin to Earth’s water cycle). Titan is also thought to have a subsurface ocean of water.

Does Saturn have oxygen?

On Earth, it is a continual byproduct of plant respiration, and animals need this oxygen for life. But in Saturn’s atmosphere, molecular oxygen was created without life present, through a chemical reaction with the sun’s radiation and icy particles that comprise Saturn’s rings.

Is there an ocean on Saturn’s moon Enceladus?

This diagram illustrates the possible interior of Saturn’s moon Enceladus based on a gravity investigation by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and NASA’s Deep Space Network, reported in April 2014. The gravity measurements suggest an ice outer shell and a low density, rocky core with a regional water ocean sandwiched in between at high southern latitudes.

How often does Enceladus line up with Saturn?

Overview. Also, like some other moons in the extensive systems of the giant planets, Enceladus is trapped in what’s called an orbital resonance, which is when two or more moons line up with their parent planet at regular intervals and interact gravitationally. Enceladus orbits Saturn twice every time Dione, a larger moon, orbits once.

What did the Cassini mission find on Enceladus?

Science Status: The discovery of Enceladus’ global ocean, icy jets and their role in creating Saturn’s E-ring is one of the top findings of the Cassini mission. Cassini also found the first signs of hydrothermal activity beyond Earth – making this tiny Saturnian moon one of the leading locations in the search for possible life beyond Earth.

How are the Jets on Enceladus being supplied?

And the density of organic materials in the plume was about 20 times denser than scientists expected. From gravity measurements based on the Doppler effect and the magnitude of the moon’s very slight wobble as it orbits Saturn, scientists determined that the jets were being supplied by a global ocean inside the moon.

Is NASA going to Enceladus? If endorsed in the upcoming decadal survey and selected by NASA for development, Orbilander wouldn’t launch until 2038 and arrive at Enceladus until at least 2050. Part of that is driven by budget constraints—there’s only so much money to go around—but that’s also when Encleadus’ south pole will be in…