The ocean hidden beneath the ice of Saturn’s moon, Enceladus, has a more alkaline environment than previously thought. Scientists came to this conclusion based on data on phosphate releases collected by the Cassini spacecraft.
Ocean on Enceladus
A study of the ocean environment on Saturn’s moon Enceladus was recently accepted for publication in the journal Icarus, the findings of which may influence our assessments of the possible existence of life on this celestial body. This data may influence future plans for research into this celestial body.
Enceladus was discovered in 1789 by William Herschel. In 1980 and 1981, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 flew past it. But it was only in 2005 that the Cassini probe discovered that huge fountains of water were erupting from four deep fissures in the southern polar region.
Since then, Enceladus has held a special place in plans to explore the Solar System, as it is expected that there is a large ocean of liquid water somewhere beneath its surface, and it may even be possible to find life there.
pH level
However, the key factor in determining the possibility of life is the pH level. It characterizes the acidity or alkalinity of an environment and ranges from 0 (completely acidic) to 14 (completely alkaline). For most bodies of water on Earth, it ranges from 6 to 8.5, for fresh water — from 6.5 to 8, rainwater — approximately 5.6, and seawater — approximately 8.2.
An indicator of 7 is considered neutral, meaning that water on Earth is predominantly slightly acidic. For Enceladus, this indicator was previously considered to be 8-9, meaning that the environment was slightly alkaline. However, a new study based on data on sulfate emissions recorded by Cassini gives a pH of between 10.1 and 11.6.
In other words, it is actually similar to a soap solution. For many terrestrial organisms, this environment is too harsh, although some of them could survive in it.
According to phys.org
