(MENAFN) Scientists have uncovered previously unknown organic molecules within ice particles expelled from Saturn’s moon Enceladus, a study published Wednesday in Nature Astronomy reveals.

This discovery strengthens the growing scientific consensus that Enceladus could support life-friendly environments beneath its icy surface.

The breakthrough stems from a fresh analysis of data gathered by NASA’s Cassini mission, which in 2008 flew directly through plumes erupting from fractures near Enceladus’s south pole. At nearly 18 kilometers per second, the icy grains impacted the spacecraft, breaking apart to expose their chemical composition.

The study details the detection of esters, alkenes, ethers, as well as nitrogen- and oxygen-bearing compounds in these freshly released grains, supplementing earlier findings of aromatic and oxygen-containing molecules. These results highlight the chemical complexity of Enceladus’s hidden ocean, suggesting reaction pathways akin to hydrothermal processes found on Earth’s seafloor.

Previously, Cassini had identified salts, methane, and phosphates in the plume, confirming five of the six essential “CHNOPS” elements — carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur — now present on Enceladus.

The authors emphasize, “While the majority of previous results were inferred from relatively old E-ring ice grains, fly-bys of Enceladus by Cassini provided a unique opportunity to sample freshly ejected grains.”

“This offers compositional insights into ice grains immediately after ejection and ensures that the compounds detected arise from the Enceladean subsurface rather than space weathering in Saturn’s E ring,” the paper adds.

Roughly 310 miles (500 kilometers) in diameter, Enceladus is cloaked in bright ice but conceals a global salty ocean beneath its crust. Its powerful geysers eject material into space, enabling Cassini to perform an unprecedented natural sampling of this enigmatic moon.

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