The last vital ingredient for life has been discovered on Enceladus
Phosphorus, though rare on Earth’s surface, may be abundant on other worlds
By Nikk Ogasa
CHICAGO — The last key ingredient for life has been discovered on Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus.
Phosphorus is a vital building block of life, used to construct DNA and RNA. Now, an analysis of data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft reveals that Enceladus’ underground ocean contains the crucial nutrient. Not only that, its concentrations there may be thousands of times greater than in Earth’s ocean, planetary scientist Yasuhito Sekine reported December 14 at the American Geophysical Union’s fall meeting.