Saturn's sixth moon may be harbouring life

Washington: Researchers have found a geochemical process on Saturn's sixth largest moon that suggests life could exist on it, or could have previously existed. A team from Carnegie Mellon University has revealed the pH of water spewing from a geyser-like plume on Saturn's moon Enceladus.

The pH tells us how acidic or basic the water is. Enceladus is geologically active and thought to have a liquid water ocean beneath its icy surface. The hidden ocean is the presumed source of the plume of water vapour and ice that the Cassini spacecraft has observed venting from the moon's South Polar Region. Whenever there's the possibility of liquid water on another planetary body, scientists begin to ask whether or not it could support life.