Unusually large amount of methane detected on Saturn's moon: Is it alien life?

According to a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, it seems that NASA has detected signs of alien life on a moon of Saturn called Enceladus.

According to this study, NASA's Cassini spacecraft detected large amounts of methane - along with unusually high levels of the molecules Di-Hydrogen and CO2 - on the Moon Enceladus.

While the detection of these gas molecules is not uncommon, known geochemical processes cannot account for such high concentrations of methane and these gases on Saturn's moon.

This led scientists at the University of Arizona and PSL University (Paris Sciences & Lettres) to suggest that there are bacteria or germs - similar to those on Earth - located in an ocean. hidden beneath the ice that covers most of Enceladus' surface.

"We wanted to know: Can bacteria 'eat' the Di-Hydrogen molecule and produce methane - the equivalent of methane," said Reigs Ferriere, an associate professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. similar to those on Earth - could it account for the large amounts of methane discovered by Cassini?"

While it is difficult to directly find these bacteria on Saturn's moons, Ferriere and his team built mathematical models of various processes, including methane production in the atmosphere. biology, to interpret the Cassini data.

The calculation results show that, even including the highest possible estimates of abiotic methane production conditions - methane production without biological support - does not sufficient to explain the measured methane concentration in the gas mixture. However, when biological factors are added, the calculations show that the amount of methane produced is consistent with the Cassini's findings.

However, it is still too early to conclude that alien life exists on Saturn's moon Enceladus - although it is a reasonable possibility to account for the unusually high concentration of methane that the gas has discovered by the Cassini spacecraft. Most likely the cause comes from a different geochemical process than what is known on Earth.

Another theory for this is that the methane and gas mixture mentioned above may have come from the decomposition of organic matter present in Enceladus' core. This hypothesis would make sense if it turns out that Enceladus was formed through the accretion of organic matter rich in comets.

A few weeks ago, the US Department of Defense Research also released a report on UFO sightings. Based on 144 reports of unidentified flying objects appearing over the past 20 years, the report said it found no "clear indications of the presence of extraterrestrial life" to explain the objects. flight, but this possibility is not ruled out.