THEO: Testing the Habitability of Enceladus’s Ocean
Abstract
Saturn’s moon Enceladus offers a unique opportunity in the search for life and habitable environments beyond Earth, a key theme of the 2013 Decadal Survey as it informs our understanding of life and habitability on our own planet by addressing (1) the limits of life under colder, fainter sun conditions, (2) the importance of hydrothermal alteration in the origin of life, and (3) the distribution of molecules in the solar system that may have served as the precursors for life. Plumes of predominately water vapor and ice spew from the south pole of Enceladus. Cassini’s data suggest these plumes are sourced by a liquid reservoir beneath the moon’s icy crust that contains organics, salts, and water-rock interaction derivatives. Thus, the ingredients for life as we know it— liquid water, hydrocarbons, and energy sources— are available in Enceladus’s subsurface ocean. We only have to sample the plumes to investigate this hidden ocean environment.With the help of TeamX, the 2015 JPL Planetary Science Summer School student participants developed a proof of concept Enceladus New Frontiers-class solar-powered orbiter. The mission, Testing the Habitability of Enceladus’s Ocean (THEO) conducts remote sensing and in-situ analyses with the following instrument suite: a mass spectrometer, a sub-mm radiometer-spectrometer, a camera, and two magnetometers. Measurements from these instruments can address four key questions for ascertaining Enceladean ocean habitability within the context of the moon’s geological activity. How are the plumes and ocean connected? Is there evidence of biological processes? Are the abiotic conditions of the ocean suitable for habitability? What mechanisms maintain the liquid state of the ocean? By taking advantage of the opportunity Enceladus’s plumes offer, THEO represents a viable, solar-powered option for exploring the potentially habitable ocean worlds of the outer solar system. This work was carried out at JPL/Caltech under a contract with NASA.
- Publication:
-
AAS/Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting Abstracts #47
- Pub Date:
- November 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015DPS....4731224M