The Cassini spacecraft has discovered evidence of a "global ocean of liquid water" underneath the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus, according to NASA. The information will help scientists further understand the role of water in the development of life on other planets in the solar system.
Despite the fact that Enceladus' rings are made up of water ice just like Saturn's, they differ in a few unique ways, one of them being the nature of its rings' particles — Saturn's are frozen and geologically dead due to their small size, which make it impossible for them to retain internal heat, whereas Enceladus is in the presence of forces that heat its interior, which are the reason for its south polar water jets and sub-surface ocean.
Enceladus' unique subsurface ocean gives it access to many factors integral to human life, including organic carbon and inorganic salts, according to a 2014 paper.
"No other world has such well-studied indications of habitable conditions," said Chris McKay, lead author of the study.
The image was captured using Cassini's narrow-angle camera from a phase angle of 155 degrees, approximately 630,000 miles away from Enceladus, which spreads 313 miles across, according to Science World Report.
