On April 13th 2017, NASA announced that two of its space science missions had detected needed elements for the creation of life. Using the Cassini Spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA has determined that Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus are both ocean worlds. Cassini's mission to Enceladus has detected hydrogen gas, which could be a chemical energy source for life, while Hubble has detected more evidence of possible plumes of water vapor spewing from Europa.
The hydrogen gas on Enceladus was discovered in 2015 when the Cassini Spacecraft made its deepest dive through a plume of gas and icy material, that was rising from the moon's surface. Scientists back on Earth were later able to determine that the plume contained 98% water and 1% hydrogen. The other 1% contained a mixture of carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane. While this is not proof of life it self, it is, however, evidence that the necessary ingredients for life exists on Saturn's moon.
The possible plume of water spewing from Jupiter's moon Europa was discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope in early 2016. It was measured at 62 miles high. An earlier plume candidate was detected in March of 2014. That particular siting was measured at 30 miles high. While the suspected plumes appear to be coming from a warm region of Europa, where there are cracks in its icy surface, NASA is still not ready to say that these are actual plumes just yet.
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