NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute(NEW YORK) In the race to understand the potential habitability of Saturn s icy and active moon, Enceladus, scientists could have a newfound understanding of the moon s defining stripes and eruptions.Enceladus harbors a global, subsurface ocean more than 30 miles deep, that periodically erupts jets of ice crystals and plumes of gas above its South Pole, which were first recognized by NASA s Cassini spacecraft in 2005.During the 13-year mission studying Saturn and its 146 moons, the Cassini spacecraft was able to capture material ejected into space by Enceladus jets.Enceladus, named after a giant in Greek mythology, is the sixth-largest of Saturn s many moons and spans approximately 310 miles in diameter, according to NASA.Over nearly 20 years, scientists have explored the chemical makeup in Enceladus jets, and in a June 2023 study, researchers determined that the salt-rich frozen liquid and gas plumes contain the key ingredients needed to sus
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