Scientists to probe Saturn's icy moon for aliens

Scientists to probe Saturns icy moon for aliens
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Highlights

In one of its most ambitious projects in deep space, a team of NASA researchers are proposing to send robots at the centre of icy moons to explore the subsurface ocean for presence of life.

Washington: In one of its most ambitious projects in deep space, a team of NASA researchers are proposing to send robots at the centre of icy moons to explore the subsurface ocean for presence of life.

The two possible candidates are: the icy moons of gas giants Jupiter and Saturn which harbour sub-surface oceans perfect for hosting life.

According to a recent study, Jupiter’s moon Europa is creating a strong gravitational pull which is creating more heat on the moon's ice-sheet that is enough to support a sub-surface ocean.

But it is Saturn's icy moon Enceladus -- 500 km in diameter and 1.272 billion km away from the Earth - that serves as a leading candidate for extra-terrestrial life.

This year, one of most promising proposals that NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Programme (NIAC) has received is from the researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at Pasadena, California - proposing robots to explore the icy moons.

The Icy-Moon Cryovolcano Explorer (ICE) project aims to land on these moons and send a robotic explorer down the ice volcano to deploy a submersible to explore the ocean.

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