Nasa announces one of Saturn's moons could support alien life in our solar system

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

The things is, molecular Hydrogen is very rare on Earth, the only place we know to harbor life, so I don't really get the importance of finding molecular Hydrogen.

Elemental hydrogen (H) is the most abundant element in the universe constituting 75% of its mass. Yet, it is absent on earth in its monoatomic form, being present in water, and inorganic and organic compounds. Molecular hydrogen is found in the earth’s atmosphere at less than one part per million.

Pure hydrogen gas is scarce in Earth's atmosphere and any hydrogen that actually enters the atmosphere rapidly escapes Earth's gravity, according to the Royal Society. On our planet, hydrogen occurs mainly in combination with oxygen and water, as well as in organic matter such as living plants, petroleum and coal, Los Alamos reports.

www.livescience.com...

originally posted by: ChipForBrains
a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

The things is, molecular Hydrogen is very rare on Earth, the only place we know to harbor life, so I don't really get the importance of finding molecular Hydrogen.

Elemental hydrogen (H) is the most abundant element in the universe constituting 75% of its mass. Yet, it is absent on earth in its monoatomic form, being present in water, and inorganic and organic compounds. Molecular hydrogen is found in the earth’s atmosphere at less than one part per million.

Pure hydrogen gas is scarce in Earth's atmosphere and any hydrogen that actually enters the atmosphere rapidly escapes Earth's gravity, according to the Royal Society. On our planet, hydrogen occurs mainly in combination with oxygen and water, as well as in organic matter such as living plants, petroleum and coal, Los Alamos reports.

www.livescience.com...

They didn't find it in the atmosphere of Enceladus; they found it by analyzing the ocean water of Enceladus, which is accessible via the geysers that eject that water upwards, allowing the Cassini probe to fly through that water to directly sample it (well, it could be said to be in the atmosphere, but technically it came directly from the sub-surface ocean).

And while molecular hydrogen on Earth is rare overall on Earth (taking into account entire volume of the Earth), there are places on Earth where molecular hydrogen can be found in relative abundance --- and those places are what makes this discovery interesting.

The "white smoker" hydrothermal vents under the oceans on Earth are one of those places that molecular hydrogen is found in relative abundance. That's due to the hot gasses and hot rocks (from geologic activity under the vent) reacting with seawater. On Earth, these white smokers are hotbeds (no pun intended) of life:

Saturn's moon may be "like a candy store for microbes"

In deep thermal vents beneath the oceans here on Earth known as "white smokers," hydrogen gas is formed through interactions between the heated water and surrounding rock. The Cassini mission has already helped scientists reach the conclusion that hot ocean water beneath Enceladus' icy crust is coming into contact with a rocky core, so the new findings support the idea that a similar process is at play on the moon in terms of the formation of hydrogen.

"Although we can't detect life, we've found that there's a food source there for it. It would be like a candy store for microbes," said Hunter Waite, lead author of the study appearing today in the journal Science.

I said "relative abundance" of hydrogen above, because it is still a small amount, but even that small amount is still significant due to it's association with hydrothermal vents


Other articles about hydrogen as an energy source for microbes around hydrothermal vents:

Hydrogen is an energy source for hydrothermal vent symbioses
[Note: Link opens directly to a pdf]

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vents in 1977 revolutionized our understanding of the energy sources that fuel primary productivity on Earth. Hydrothermal vent ecosystems are dominated by animals that live in symbiosis with chemosynthetic bacteria. So far, only two energy sources have been shown to power chemosynthetic symbioses: reduced sulphur compounds and methane. Using metagenome sequencing, single-gene fluorescence in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, shipboard incubations and in situ mass spectrometry, we show here that the symbionts of the hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge use hydrogen to power primary production. In addition, we show that the symbionts of Bathymodiolus mussels from Pacific vents have hupL, the key gene for hydrogen oxidation. Furthermore, the symbionts of other vent animals such as the tubeworm Riftia pachyptila and the shrimp Rimicaris exoculata also have hupL. We propose that the ability to use hydrogen as an energy source is widespread in hydrothermal vent symbioses, particularly at sites where hydrogen is abundant.

Hydrogen for dinner
[Note: Link opens directly to a pdf]

At sea-floor hydrothermal vents, mussels bathed in hydrogen-rich fluids thrive by supporting and harvesting an internal population of hydrogen-consuming bacteria. Hydrogen is therefore the first chemical energy source for microbe–animal symbiosis to have been discovered in 25 years, and joins hydrogen sulphide and methane on the short menu of compounds used to fuel organisms at hydrothermal vents.

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

Good post.

a reply to: seasonal


When I heard this news the other day, I was totally thrilled to hear it. Thank goodness that NASA decided to share with us their real findings. I do believe that this is one of many findings and I do believe that this is the first step to testing the waters to see how people feel about this. As I am sure once the idea of life sets sail and NASA start talking about actually finding complex life that the tides will soon turn, coming from the religious cults around the world.

Over and over I sense a feeling that this kind of information needs time before its spoken about in the public.

What a wonderful moment however. I feel me find our long long brothers and sisters very soon and they may ask us.... What took you so long??

originally posted by: starwarsisreal
My concern is when the corporations go there, they will pollute and destroy the moon's natural beauty.

Maybe they'll make it even better.

this announcement is kinda cool.

BUT... when are they going to tell us what's on the dark side of the moon and mars? Show us the high resolution photos of the moon and mars that haven't been airbrushed out.

I'm a big fan of all things space, but when NASA has a big announcement i never get excited or think it's much of nothing.
Their feeding us garbage when there clearly hiding structures and objects on the moon/mars.

a reply to: Matt11

It's all about propaganda.

originally posted by: Matt11
this announcement is kinda cool.

BUT... when are they going to tell us what's on the dark side of the moon and mars? Show us the high resolution photos of the moon and mars that haven't been airbrushed out.

Haven't heard of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, then?

I'm a big fan of all things space, but when NASA has a big announcement i never get excited or think it's much of nothing.
Their feeding us garbage when there clearly hiding structures and objects on the moon/mars.

Are they now? I've never seen any definite proof that they are hiding anything there.