An unusual “ice volcano” on Enceladus, one of the many moons of Saturn, appears to be spewing out plumes of water, Nasa scientists report.
The Cassini spacecraft, which has been orbiting Saturn since 2004, has taken images of bizarre volcanic features at the moon’s southern pole which could indicate bodies of liquid water on the otherwise frozen satellite.
If water is being heated by volcanic activity to its liquid state then there is a slim possibility that life might also exist on Enceladus, said Carolyn Porco, the Cassini imaging team leader at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
“We realise that this is a radical conclusion - that we may have evidence for liquid water with a body so small and so cold,” Dr Porco said. “However, if we are right, we have significantly broadened the diversity of solar system environments where we might possibly have conditions suitable for living organisms.”
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