Since the world is a world, the first humans were already fascinated by the sky and the stars that were seen. As technology advanced and scientific thinking became more elaborate, the enchantment of space and environments around the universe only increased. Of course, with the fascination with space and the increase in resources, the fascination with the possibility of life beyond Earth has also grown.

For a long time, we have been conditioned by movies to believe that perhaps there is a possibility that there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Many people are fascinated by this possibility and dedicate their lives to finding life outside Earth.

An example of this search came when the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft dove inside Saturn’s moon Enceladus and detected something unexpected. The probe has detected a collection of compounds that are also associated with hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the Earth’s oceans.

Methane

Astrobiologists were particularly intrigued by the amount of methane that appeared to be quite high. Even so, it was still possible that known geochemical processes could be responsible for this abundance.

However, this is not the case. Scientists have determined that no known process could be pumping this amount of methane observed being expelled from Enceladus. This means that it could be from an unknown process, or it could be biological in origin.

“We wanted to know: Do earth-like microbes, which ‘eat’ dihydrogen and produce methane, explain the surprisingly large amount of methane detected by Cassini? Searching for such microbes, known as methanogens on the sea floor of Enceladus, would require extremely challenging deep dive missions that have not been in sight for several decades,” said University of Arizona biologist Regis Ferriere.

However, it is not because it is not yet possible to go to the region and do a collection that researchers do not have other tools to discover things. So they turned to mathematical modeling using known variables, which are the processes that produce methane here on our planet.

This moon of Saturn is a fascinating place. It is far from the sun and is shielded by a large, thick layer of ice. However, beneath that ice is turning a vast ocean that may have currents and necessary ingredients for life.

One could imagine that an ocean so far from the sun might be too cold to support life. But planetary tidal forces may be keeping him warm. And that would not only help keep the ocean from freezing, it could also mean the presence of hydrothermal vents.

So if hydrothermal vents are present on Enceladus, and all the signs seem to indicate that they really are, that means they could sustain life more or less as we know it.