NASA astrophysicist Thomas
Zurbachen told the US House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and
Technology today that its latest mission showed that one of Saturn's moons is
capable of hosting aquatic alien life.
He said this means that if
it proves true the chances of life being elsewhere in the Universe or vastly
increased.
The Cassini space probe has
analysed Enceladus and found hydrothermal reaction are happening between water
and rock below its icy surface.
This is the process that is
needed to happen for the most simplistic forms of life to begin.
Another probe will now
investigate if the most simplistic form of life - micro organisms - are present
on Enceladus.
Mr Zurbachen said if this is
the case, then there must be alien life in other parts of the universe.
Mr Zurbachen said: "For
example, just two weeks ago, NASA's Cassini mission confirmed the presence of
hydrogen from plumes on Saturn's moon Enceladus while our Hubble Space
Telescope team announced the second observation of possible plumes near the
equator of Jupiter's moon Europa.
"Both discoveries
display the potential for life-enabling energy sources in oceans hidden from
view under an icy crest, a confirmation of which would be significant to all of
NASA.
"That's because
scientists believe the plumes are spewing from cracks in these moons' icy
shells with material indicative of hydrothermal activity on their ocean floor;
and we know that within many hydrothermal vents in our deep oceans on Earth, we
find life.
"Scientists are
currently debating if life may have originated at locations like these."
He said the question of life
outside Earth was "one of the greatest questions of our time."
He added: "While we
haven’t found definitive signs of life elsewhere just yet, our search is making
remarkable progress and astrobiology is a focus of a growing number of NASA
missions."
Mr Zurbachen also said
NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has found evidence that ancient Mars also had the
right chemistry to have supported microbial life.
NASA has now found 3,475
exoplanets, which are the right distance from their sun to potentially support
life.
He added: "With all of
this activity related to the search for life, in so many different areas, we
are on the verge of one of the most profound discoveries, ever."
