What must the next generation of missions be capable of, beyond analyzing data from Cassini, to confirm biosignatures on Enceladus?

Answer

Deploying craft that could land on Enceladus to directly analyze plume material or the ocean water

The data collected by the Cassini mission, while foundational in identifying the required ingredients (water, energy, organics), only provided indirect analysis of the interior environment via flybys through plumes. To move beyond confirming the potential for life to actually finding complex biological signatures, a more direct and targeted approach is required. Future mission priorities involve designing probes capable of more precise, in-situ sampling. Ideally, this means developing landers or specialized craft that can interact directly with the material ejected from Enceladus, or perhaps even penetrating the ice to sample the liquid ocean water itself, providing high-fidelity data on molecular complexity.

What must the next generation of missions be capable of, beyond analyzing data from Cassini, to confirm biosignatures on Enceladus?

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NASA Just Found Signs of Life on Saturn's Moon Enceladus

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