Stéphanie Cazaux and Niels Ligterink have received funding from NWO under the National Science Agenda (NWA) for their research project “The Search for Life on Icy Moons.” This project, part of NWA Route 15: Origins of Life – on Earth and in the Universe, focuses on how to sample material from the plumes escaping Enceladus’ subsurface ocean. The funding will support the hiring of a postdoctoral researcher.
Ingredients for life
Most of the oceans in our Solar System lie beneath thick ice sheets on moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn. These oceans, warmed by tidal forces and shielded from sunlight, are promising candidates for hosting extraterrestrial life. On Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons, water escapes through surface fractures, forming geysers. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft flew through these plumes and detected salt and complex organic molecules, indicating that ingredients essential for life could be present in the moon’s ocean. Following these discoveries, ESA and NASA have prioritised a return mission to assess the moon’s habitability.