Enceladus: A Promising Candidate for Life with Key Building Blocks Detected

Scientists have found phosphorus, a key building block of life, in water geysers on Enceladus, a tiny moon of Saturn and one of the most likely places in the solar system where life might exist. Enceladus is an ice-covered moon that harbors an enormous ocean of liquid water underneath an icy crust. The discovery shows that the icy moon satisfies "the strictest requirement of habitability." The discovery has implications beyond Enceladus' corner in the solar system. Celestial objects which host oceans beyond the frost line would inevitably have a soda ocean, according to the new study.