Exploring the Habitability of Enceladus Through Analysis of Cryo-volcanic Emissions

Join a seminar presentation by Frank Postberg from the Institute of Geological Sciences at Freïe Universität Berlin as he explores the potential habitability of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus through analysis of its cryo-volcanic emissions. Discover how the moon's global ocean, hidden beneath a thin ice crust, releases ice grains and vapor through warm surface cracks, providing unprecedented access to oceanic materials. Learn about groundbreaking findings from the Cassini spacecraft's mass spectrometers, which revealed insights into the first-ever analyzed extraterrestrial liquid water environment. Explore evidence of the ocean's mild salinity, alkaline pH, and hydrothermal activity driven by tidal forces. Examine recent discoveries of phosphates, complex organic chemistry, and concentrated macromolecular organic material that make Enceladus a prime candidate in the search for extraterrestrial life within our solar system.