Cassini probe shows that Enceladus is able to support life!!!

[MoonSpot]

8 minutes ago, vorticalbox said:

how long for?

Probably not long enough to make it somewhere traveling bare-assed nekkid in space, but a lot longer than I can.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade#Physiology

Quote

Tardigrades are one of the few groups of species that are capable of reversibly suspending their metabolism and going into a state of cryptobiosis. Many species of tardigrade can survive in a dehydrated state up to five years, or in exceptional cases longer.[36] Depending on the environment, they may enter this state via anhydrobiosis, cryobiosis, osmobiosis, or anoxybiosis. While in this state, their metabolism lowers to less than 0.01% of normal and their water content can drop to 1% of normal.[12] Their ability to remain desiccated for such long periods was thought to be largely dependent on the high levels of the nonreducing sugar trehalose, which protects their membranes, though recent research suggests that tardigrades have a unique protein that serves a similar purpose as trehalose.[37] Their DNA is further protected from radiation by a protein called "Dsup" (short for damage suppressor).[38][39] In this cryptobiotic state, the tardigrade is known as a tun.[40]

 

[AresKrieger]

1 minute ago, vorticalbox said:

how long for?

5 years they can survive in that state  if in cased in something (*solar radiation will kill them in about 10 days otherwise in space, the pressure isn't much of an issue neither is the cold), but the fact that their is an organism that can even achieve that is promising given how large of a percentage of micro organisms we know nothing about

[Juniho]

spaceship for rent anyone?

[FPSwithaWacomTablet]

On 4/14/2017 at 4:29 PM, Master Disaster said:

Straight off the bat let's make it very clear that they haven't found any life, if they had it would be huge news on every channel right now.

 

As some of you will know Cassini is reaching the end of its useful life and NASA has decided to send it on a few very risky trips before they ditch it into Saturn.

 

The first of these trips was a journey through Enceladus' polar water jets that are spewing water into space. On its way through Cassini took some sample readings and the news is very good indeed. The chemical analysis strongly indicates that Enceladus has sub surface hot water vents on the ocean floor similar to those found on earth. These vents on earth are always teeming with life so its a good indication that Enceladus might have life in its oceans.

 

As I said previously, these vents are no guarantee that life exists, Enceladus might he a dead world still but this discovery warrants further investigation for sure.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39592059 <--- Please read, goes into much greater detail!!!

 

Holy shit, this is pretty big news!!! If they find life on Enceladus it massively increases the chances of there being intelligent life out there somewhere and would prove that life in space is actually fairly common.

 

I really hope I'm alive for the discovery of alien life.

 

Thoughts and opinions.

Water isn't that hard to find in space, considering plentiful sources of hydrogen plus fusion products that result in minerals/elements such as oxygen and silicon. The question is how does one form proteins and stuff in space under natural conditions?

 

Resources =/= life, though I am quite optimistic about this.

 

There is also a possibility that the Cassini probe might introduce life into Enceladus via extremophiles such as microbes, should the probe unfortunately crash onto that moon. In that case, we end with DOOM, just on Enceladus instead