Enceladus’ Ocean Is Surprisingly Alkaline – Could It Support Life?
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Enceladus’ Ocean Is Surprisingly Alkaline – Could It Support Life?
The pH of Enceladus’ ocean likely falls between 10.1 and 11.6. That’s more alkaline than earlier estimates, which put it around 8 or 9. Most of Earth’s water has a pH between 6 and 8.5. The ocean is likely reacting with the rocky seafloor, which could be making the water more. alkaline. This kind of rock-water interaction might even help create the right conditions for life on the moon. The study was based on data from ice grains found in plumes coming out of the south pole. These icy jets were first explored by Cassini spacecraft during its mission around Saturn.
The research team used computer models to figure out the pH level of this hidden ocean. They based their work on data from ice grains found in plumes coming out of Enceladus’ south pole. These icy jets were first explored by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its mission around Saturn.
What Does a High pH Mean for Alien Life?
The results showed something surprising. The pH of Enceladus’ ocean likely falls between 10.1 and 11.6. That’s more alkaline than earlier estimates, which put it around 8 or 9.
The team wondered if the pH in the plumes matched the pH inside the ocean itself. They also looked at what could cause the ocean to become so alkaline.
On Earth, carbon dioxide can escape from water and make it more alkaline. The researchers tested if something similar might be happening on Enceladus. But their models showed that CO₂ leaving the ocean wouldn’t be enough to cause such a big pH jump. They settled on a likely pH of about 10.6.
Just to compare, a pH of 7 is neutral. Most of Earth’s water has a pH between 6 and 8.5. So Enceladus’ ocean is on the high end, much more alkaline than our own oceans.
In simple terms, the ocean is likely reacting with the rocky seafloor, which could be making the water more alkaline. This kind of rock-water interaction might even help create the right conditions for life.
How We Got Here: From Voyager to Cassini
Enceladus was first spotted back in 1789. It’s small, only about one-seventh the size of our Moon. NASA’s Voyager probes flew by it in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until 2005 that we really started learning about it.
View of Saturn’s moon Enceladus via the Cassini spacecraft.
Credit: NASA/ ESA/ JPL/ SSI/ Cassini Imaging Team/ Carnegie Science
That’s when Cassini found the famous plumes shooting out from cracks near the moon’s south pole, nicknamed “tiger stripes”. Cassini flew through these plumes and found water vapour, hydrogen, methane, and even organic molecules.
The phosphates used in this new study were first discussed in 2023, based on data from Cassini’s onboard dust analyser.
What’s Next for Enceladus?
Cassini’s mission came to a planned end in 2017 when the spacecraft was sent into Saturn’s atmosphere. This final move was designed to avoid any chance of contaminating moons like Enceladus with microbes from Earth.
Even though Cassini is gone, scientists are still exploring the massive amount of data it gathered. Right now, there are no official follow-up missions to Enceladus.
Source: https://orbitaltoday.com/2025/07/01/enceladus-ocean-is-surprisingly-alkaline-could-it-support-life/