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Space

Enceladus’s ocean may be even better for life than we realised

The buried ocean on Saturn’s moon Enceladus seems to be stable across extremely long periods of time, making it an even more promising place to hunt for life

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Space

Strange ‘magic islands’ on Saturn’s moon Titan may be porous icebergs

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This illustration shows NASA's Cassini spacecraft diving through the plume of Saturn's moon Enceladus, in 2015

Space

Cyanide in the ocean of Saturn's moon Enceladus could be good for life

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Juice launch 14/04/2023 ESA?s latest interplanetary mission, Juice, lifted off on an?Ariane 5 rocket?from?Europe?s Spaceport?in French 09:14 local time/14:14CEST on 14 April 2023 to begin its eight-year journey to Jupiter, where it will study in detail the gas giant planet?s three large ocean-bearing moons: Ganymede, Callisto and Europa. Juice ? Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer ??is humankind?s next bold mission to the outer Solar System. This ambitious mission will?characterise Ganymede, Callisto and Europa with a powerful suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments to discover more about these compelling destinations as potential habitats for past or present life. Juice will monitor Jupiter?s complex magnetic, radiation and plasma environment in depth and its interplay with the moons, studying the Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giant systems across the Universe. Following launch, Juice will embark on an eight-year journey to Jupiter, arriving in July 2031 with the aid of momentum and direction gained from four gravity-assist fly-bys of the Earth-Moon system, Venus and, twice, Earth. Flight VA260 is the final Ariane 5 flight to carry an ESA mission to space.

Space

How the JUICE mission will look for habitability on Jupiter's moons

Features

The weird and wonderful inner moons of Saturn revealed by Cassini

Space

The weird and wonderful inner moons of Saturn revealed by Cassini

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Saturn

Space

Saturn’s rings formed in a smash-up less than 100 million years ago

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Cassini

Space

Cassini revealed three big surprises before diving into Saturn

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Spectacular new photos of Titan show Saturn's moon like never before

Space

Spectacular new photos of Titan show Saturn's moon like never before

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Enceladus plumes

Space

Enceladus is spewing out organic molecules necessary for life

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Titan

Life

Return to Titan: Why this icy world is our best bet to find life

Tantalising clues suggest the weird seas on Saturn’s largest moon contain a chemical cocktail capable of spawning life. A daring mission now aims to find out

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Rediscover the gift of reading: Best books to buy this holiday

Culture

Life

Private mission may get us back to Enceladus sooner than NASA

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Space

Enceladus’s hot, gritty core may cook up ingredients for life

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Space

Astronaut wee could show us how the plumes on Enceladus work

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