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Then, the results of these models were compared to what Cassini actually detected in the plumes. They examined whether the hydrothermal cycle could provide enough dihydrogen for the microbes to “eat,” whether the temperature was right for them, and importantly what effects the microbes would have on their surroundings – specifically the concentrations in the plumes.
![saturn moon atlas saturn moon atlas](https://scx2.b-cdn.net/gfx/news/hires/2017/cassinigetsc.jpg)
The team modeled different conditions that could be possible in that environment on Enceladus, and introduced hypothetical methane-producing microbes, based on known strains from Earth. So does that mean there are alien microbes living around hydrothermal vents on the seafloor of Enceladus? Or could the detected molecules all be accounted for through those geochemical processes alone? To find out, the researchers ran models to see which scenarios best fit the observations. And as we know from here on Earth, this dynamic environment is prime real estate for microbes that consume the dihydrogen and carbon dioxide produced there and in turn emit methane. This suggested that at the seafloor, where the ocean met Enceladus’ rocky core, there were hydrothermal vents. While exploring Saturn and its moons, the Cassini spacecraft dived through these plumes and detected unusually high amounts of molecules like methane, dihydrogen and carbon dioxide. But beneath that frigid shell is a slushy subsurface ocean, which makes itself known by spurting through the ice in giant water plumes, like an otherworldly Old Faithful. A new study has found that methane levels detected from the icy moon are far higher than can be explained by known geochemical processes – but they are consistent with microbes.Īt a glance, the giant iceball of Enceladus may not seem like a particularly promising place to find life. Something is making methane on Saturn’s moon Enceladus.