Spacecraft Finds Organic Matter at Saturn Moon

March 27, 2008 -- An international spacecraft that dove through geysers erupting from the surface of a Saturn moon found organic matter, one of many ingredients that make an environment hospitable to extraterrestrial life, scientists said.

The discovery excited mission team members, who say it's a marker for further research into whether the icy satellite Enceladus has such an environment.

The chemical analysis by the unmanned Cassini spacecraft revealed that Enceladus' interior was similar to that of a comet.

While the jet plumes were mostly water vapor, the probe found traces of methane and simple organic compounds, said Hunter Waite of the Southwest Research Institute, who is the principal investigator of one of the spacecraft's instruments.

"We clearly have the organics and are closing in on the question of liquid water in the interior," Waite said.

In 2005, Cassini spied gigantic geysers spewing from fractures known as tiger stripes on the moon's south pole. Scientists theorized that reservoirs of liquid water below the surface were likely supplying the ice and vapor seen in the plumes.

The flyby two weeks ago took Cassini within 30 miles from the surface of Enceladus, the shiniest object in the solar system. During the encounter, the spacecraft barreled through the icy geyser plumes at 32,000 mph and an altitude of 120 miles.