NASA ’s Cassini spacecraft will todayperform a flybyof Saturn ’s moon Enceladus , hope to pounce through one of the many plume of liquid come from what is believed to be a subsurface ocean .
The flyby through plumes at the moonlight ’s south pole will take position today at 1 p.m. EDT ( 5 p.m. GMT ) , but the first scientific outcome are not expected for years or even weeks . If successful , this will be the deep ever dive through a plume ofEnceladus .
During the flyby , the spacecraft will come within just 50 kilometers ( 30 mi ) of the Earth’s surface , hoping to taste some of the part from one of the plumes . The spacecraft has done so before , with a studyreleased yesterdaysuggesting they may contain evidence that the moon ’s Interior Department is like to that of a archaic meteorite .
It is potential , too , that the ocean could be inhabitable for microbic organisms , which could use hydrogen as an get-up-and-go source . This flyby could provide invaluable Modern data point on the theme of the subsurface ocean on Enceladus , and hint at its habitableness .
" Enceladus is not just an ocean world – it ’s a world that might cater a habitable environment for life as we do it it , " Cassini computer program scientist Curt Niebursaidin a mass medium briefing on Monday .
check out out the video above for more data on the flyby . ScienceAtNASA .
The sea is imagine to be stir up by tidal forces from Saturn and another of its Moon , Dione . Water is then expelled from vent at a temperature of at least 90 ° C ( 190 ° degree Fahrenheit ) , and ejected out from canon on the aerofoil known as Panthera tigris stripe .
While it is not capable of in reality detect liveliness , datum from the ballistic capsule ’s instrumental role could bring out unexampled information about hydrothermal activity fill seat at the bed of the sea , which may be a source of atomic number 1 . We already make out that life on Earthcan existaround hydrothermal vent . Could the same be dependable of Enceladus ?
The flyby may also reveal whether the plumes are shaped like column , or curtain - like glacial clap – or both . The quantity of the icy material will also be measured .
This is the closest Cassini will amount before the mission ends in 2017 , having been in reach since 2004 , concluding with a nose dive into Saturn ’s atmosphere when the spacecraft runs out of fuel . Another flyby in December will add it within 5,000 klick ( 3,000 miles ) of the surface , but no other flyby is planned below 22,000 kilometers ( 14,000 miles ) .
Therefore , until another mission is sent to Saturn – of which there is nothing in development – this will be our last up - close test of the plumage , which may maintain critical clue as to what other life , if any , exists in the Solar System .
