New close-ups of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus taken by the Cassini spacecraft during a November flyby and released by NASA February 23 provide fresh evidence that the moon’s interior may be hospitable to life.
Cassini observed some 30 small jets of water vapor and water ice spewing from the southern hemisphere of Enceladus, about 20 more than previously seen. In addition, the most detailed infrared map of one of the south pole’s fissures, where jets emanate, indicates that the surface temperature there might be as high as 200 kelvins (-73º Celsius), or about 20 kelvins warmer than previously estimated.
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