Scientists have found all the key ingredients we think are necessary for life on Saturn’s moon, Enceladus. The breakthrough comes from new research using data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which studied Saturn and its moons for more than a decade.
According to Space.com, the findings show that complex organic molecules – which are molecules containing carbon – were detected in the watery plumes that Enceladus sprays into space.
These molecules are important because they form part of the chemical reactions that can lead to the building blocks of life.
In simple terms, Enceladus has an ocean beneath its icy surface. Through large cracks, known as “tiger stripes,” water from this ocean shoots into space as geysers.
Cassini flew through these plumes and collected samples. Scientists now confirm that the plumes contain not just water, but also organic compounds like those that exist on Earth and are linked to life.
“The ice grains contain not just frozen water, but also other molecules including organics. There are many possible pathways from the organic molecules we found in the Cassini data to potentially relevant compounds, which enhances the likelihood that the moon is habitable,” Dr Nozair Khawaja from the University of Stuttgart, who led the research team, explained.
This discovery matters because, until now, scientists weren’t sure if the organic molecules seen around Saturn’s E-ring (a ring of icy particles fed by Enceladus) actually came from the moon’s ocean or were created by radiation in space.
The new study shows they do originate from inside the moon’s ocean.
The molecules discovered include compounds that could eventually lead to amino acids – the building blocks of proteins.
On Earth, amino acids are essential for life. While scientists caution that finding these molecules doesn’t prove life exists on Enceladus, it does prove the moon has the raw materials needed for life to form.
NASA’s Cassini mission ended in 2017, but scientists are still learning from the treasure trove of data it collected.
Future missions may involve landing on Enceladus to directly sample fresh ice and confirm whether its hidden ocean truly contains the chemistry of life.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Astronomy on 1 October 2025.