NASA found a clue for alien life in our solar system
One of the most exciting questions that still plagues scientists and us regular civilians is…do aliens exist??! Well, apparently NASA found evidence to support the theory of alien life in our solar system (i.e. within the planets that orbit our sun) during their Cassini spacecraft’s exploration of Saturn’s moon (called Enceladus).
They published their findings in the journal Science, indicating that “compelling evidence for liquid water and other essential elements” capable of fueling life have been located in the solar system. In the simplest terms, hydrogen molecules on the surface of Enceladus might have formed hot spots (The Verge notes that these are similar to the ones found in our own oceans, where deep-sea creatures thrive) that could potentially be a breeding ground for small organisms.
This video dives into how hydrothermal vents are formed, and suggests that Enceladus might be housing microbes that are “munching” on hydrogen molecules.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1FAFIc-YnY?feature=oembed
"We’re agnostic toward whether there’s life at Enceladus or not, principal investigator Hunter Waite told The Verge. "But it puts us one step closer to nailing this idea of habitability. If you took Earth’s microbes there, they’d likely survive."
Of course, it’s hard to imagine anything surviving for the long term on a distant planet that we only see in movies, and we’re still a long way from knowing whether Enceladus is realistically habitable for more advanced alien life forms (or humans for that matter! Because alternatives to Earth are always being investigated)…but this is a big step.
It’s kinda freaky to think about, but intriguing!
We’ll definitely be tracking the progress of this research!
