Ense is one of the most likely extraterrestrial planets in the solar system. Recently, Hao Jihua, a researcher at the University of Science and Technology of China, and others found that the subicles of Enceladus may be rich in dissolved phosphate , which can support the origin and reproduction of potential microorganisms. This discovery fills the gap in research on the livability of Enceladus seawater and provides scientific reference for mankind to detect the possible existence of Enceladus in the future.
Enceladus is the second satellite discovered by humans. One of its major features is that the surface is covered with a thick ice shell, also known as " ice satellite ". Since the 1980s, the international scientific community has discovered that Enceladus hides the ocean under ice through the space probe . It analyzes the ice particles it erupts from the ice cracks and finds carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur that contain the six basic components of life, but no phosphorus has been found.
phosphorus is indispensable to the DNA, biofilms, bones, etc. that constitute organisms. Therefore, the international scientific community once believed that Enceladus might not be suitable for life.
Recently, the international scientific research team led by Hao Jihua innovatively constructed a seawater-rock interaction model to simulate the seawater chemical environment of unearthed Saints.
Enceladus structure diagram. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
"Phosphorus can only be bioavailable in water. Compared with the seawater on Earth, Enceladus' seawater has high alkali content and no oxygen, and its composition is a bit like ' soda water '." Hao Jihua said that they found that in this "soda water" environment, the phospho-containing rocks in the Enceladus' core can dissolve a lot of phosphorus into the seawater in only about 100,000 years, and Enceladus' ocean has existed for more than 100,000 years, so it is inferred that it is rich in phosphorus.
Recently, the international academic journal Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences published the results. "This study reveals the livable potential of Enceladus from a very novel perspective." The journal reviewer believes that its approach can also be applied to studying the elemental composition of other planetary oceans and the origin of early life on Earth.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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