Cassini finds liquid water and geysers on Saturn Moon Enceladus (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Gatie]

Warm water pools and geysers found on Encedalus, raises speculation about possible conditions for life:

Drudge link

Official release from NASA expected 2PM today.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Cool - thanks for posting. Let's get the Mars Rovers there ASAP (they keep going and going and...)

One question for discussion, why is it always water that is necessary for life ? Can we not theorize how life could form without water ?

Seems most science headlines (not this particular one) have a requirement of water for life to potentially exist. If there aint no water, there aint no life.... Doesn't seem to cut Mother Nature much slack for her diverse talents

 

[Lynda-Marie]

Interesting point, Kirk. But they may be trying to figure out what it takes for life that they KNOW does work.

I've often wondered if there is life on the other planets in this solar system that weren't recognized as life, simply because we didn't know it WAS life.

 

[Paul McElligott]

 

[Holadem]

I think "Life as we know it" (LAWKI?) is always implied in these context.

--
H

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Yes, the old "carbon based lifeforms" from Star Trek. Better biologists than me (or most) have been looking at this stuff and the old primordial soup always requires water, hydrocarbons and a bunch of vitamins (preferably Flintstone) and minerals and stuff.

 

[Chu Gai]

Will Bush make it a national park? I can see people going there for the benefits it will give for those with arthritis. Very cool though!!

 

[Jeff Gatie]

You also need sulphur for the health benefits. Plus charcoal, potassium nitrate, some rocks and a big bamboo tube.

Ooops, that's to kill the Gorn, not cure arthritis. My mistake.:b

 

[Paul McElligott]

Well, that Gorn sure didn't suffer from arthritis after that, did he?

 

[Jason Seaver]

You kidding? Kirk crippled him, as opposed to killing him, and he never walked without pain again.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Well if there's no life there.. that's probably some pure mineral water there... no bacteria.

How long before we start seeing these at the local grocer:

 

[Bryan X]

Well, since they've found water on Encedalus, that can only mean one thing:








THERE'S NO SILICA ON ENCEDALUS!

 

[Christ Reynolds]

or not enough.

CJ

 

[Paul McElligott]

2007 - NASA approves $240 million project to send silica to Enceledus.