(ORDO NEWS) — Saturn’s moon Enceladus is covered by oceans, the salinity of which reaches the level necessary for the origin of life. The work of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was published in the journal Science Advances.
Enceladus is covered with an icy shell, under which the oceans are hidden. The team has developed a model that reproduces the properties of the satellite.
Calculations have shown that more salty areas of the oceans correspond to thicker ice at the poles of the planet, and vice versa – less salty water is located under less thick ice at the equator.
Scientists have also found that the salinity of the water on the moon of Saturn can reach about 30 grams of salt per kilogram of water. Earth‘s oceans have a salinity of 35 grams of salt per kilogram of water.
Previously, the Cassini space probe took samples of geyser-like water jets from the surface of Enceladus. According to scientists, this water contains organic matter that could support life on Enceladus.
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