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Laura McKemmish, Lecturer, UNSW Sydney

For the first time, astronomers have found life-supporting molecules called phosphates on Enceladus

NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute

The search for habitable conditions beyond Earth has just become more interesting with the discovery of biologically available phosphorus from one of Saturn’s moons. Phosphorus is the most elusive of the six crucial elements needed for life.

In research published today in Nature, data from the Cassini spacecraft were used to find phosphorus compounds called phosphates in Saturn’s E ring – one of the fainter outer rings of the planet.

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