Deep-sea bacteria thrive in conditions designed to closely match those on Saturn’s tiny moon, Enceladus, according to scientists investigating the potential for alien life forms to survive there.
The findings are likely to intensify interest in Enceladus, which has risen to the top of the list of potential locations in our solar system that might have the right conditions to support extraterrestrial life. Last year Nasa announced that a flyby of Enceladus by the Cassini spacecraft had identified water, ice and most of the chemical ingredients necessary for habitability.
The Cassini spacecraft, which flew through a plume of vapour erupting from cracks in the moon’s icy surface, revealed the presence of hydrogen, which points to the existence of active energy sources on the moon’s ocean floor, similar to the hydrothermal vents that teem with life on Earth.
The microorganisms found on Earth, known as methanogenic archaea, use carbon dioxide and hydrogen as fuel and release methane as a byproduct. Traces of methane were also picked up by the Cassini probe, although it was impossible to tell whether these were linked to biological or geochemical reactions.
Source : theguardian
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