LOS ANGELES—An international spacecraft that dove through geysers erupting from the surface of a Saturn moon found organic matter—one of many ingredients that make an environment hospitable to extraterrestrial life, scientists said Wednesday.
The discovery excited mission team members, who say it’s a marker for further research into whether the icy satellite Enceladus has such an environment.
The chemical analysis by the unmanned Cassini spacecraft revealed Enceladus’s interior is similar to that of a comet.