Plasma spectrometer aboard Cassini has found a mass ion unexpected and dust Enceladus Saturn's moon indicating that this ice could contain liquid water beneath the surface. ? Although it was no surprise to confirm the presence of water, the ions – some hydrocarbons – are additional evidence for the existence of groundwater. And where there is water, carbon and energy, all the necessary ingredients for life are present ?, explains Andrew Coates of University College London, co-author of the study.
Enceladus thus joins Earth, Titan and comets , the only bodies in the solar system in which negatively charged ions have been detected. On our planet there are ions in the ionosphere, and negative ions from water on the surface, mainly in those areas where water is in motion, such as waterfalls and breakwaters.
Cassini-Huygens is the fruit of an international collaboration between three space agencies. The Cassini orbiter was built and piloted by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory . The Huygens capsule was built by the European Space Agency (ESA). And the Italian Space Agency (ASI) provided Cassini's high-range antenna.
