Alien life: Methanol molecules around Saturn’s moon Enceladus found for the first time

Scientists have found large amount of methanol molecules around Saturn’s moon Enceladus for the first time. This discovery has significant implications for the hunt for alien life. Scientists have been interested in Enceladus since water-rich plumes were found gushing from its south pole.

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft had discovered the water-rich plumes. Cassini has since flown through the plumes and sampled organic compounds.
However, the IRAM 30-metre radio telescope in the Spanish Sierra Nevada was used for the latest discovery. It revealed a higher-than-expected quantity of the molecule methanol around Enceladus.

A molecule from Enceladus has been detected using a ground-based telescope for the first time. The plumes of Enceladus are thought to originate in water that escapes from a subsurface ocean through cracks in the icy surface of the moon.

These plumes eventually feed into the E-ring, the second-outermost ring of Saturn. Similar amounts of methanol were found in the oceans of Earth and plumes of Enceladus recently.

The new discovery suggests that the material spewed from Enceladus undertakes a complex chemical journey once vented into space.

“Recent discoveries that icy moons in our outer Solar System could host oceans of liquid water and ingredients for life have sparked exciting possibilities for their habitability,” said Emily Drabek-Maunder, from Cardiff University in the UK.

“But in this case, our findings suggest that that methanol is being created by further chemical reactions once the plume is ejected into space, making it unlikely it is an indication for life on Enceladus,” said Drabek-Maunder.

The team suggests the unexpectedly large quantity of methanol may have two possible origins: either a cloud of gas expelled from Enceladus has been trapped by Saturn’s magnetic field, or gas has spread further out into Saturn’s E-ring.

In either case, the methanol has been greatly enhanced compared to detections in the plumes.

“Observations aren’t always straightforward. To interpret our results, we needed the wealth of information Cassini gave us about Enceladus’s environment,” said Dave Clements from Imperial College of London.

“This study suggests a degree of caution needs to be taken when reporting on the presence of molecules that could be interpreted as evidence for life,” said Clements.

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“This finding shows that detections of molecules at Enceladus are possible using ground-based facilities,” said Drabek-Maunder.

“However, to understand the complex chemistry in these subsurface oceans, we will need further direct observations by future spacecraft flying through Enceladus’s plumes,” she said. 

(With inputs from PTI)