Components for the emergence of life on a moon in the solar system
Astronomers confirmed the presence of "elements required for the emergence of life" on one of Saturn's moons, describing the discovery as "unprecedented". According to the study published in the journal "Nature", the moon that contains materials that allow the possibility of life is "Enceladus", the sixth largest of Saturn's moons.
"We found before that the circumference of that moon is rich in a number of compounds and organic materials," said planetary scientist Frank Post Berg, Germany's Freie University. But he explained that "what is known today, thanks to the new study, is the clarification of the chemical characteristics of the large amount of phosphorus salts within the ice particles scattered on the moon."
The scientist pointed out that "this is the first time that scientists have been able to discover such elements in an ocean outside the planet on which we live." Astronomers have long been interested in studying Saturn's moon, and they recently analyzed scattered icy elements collected by the NASA Cassini mission.
Phosphorus is a central chemical in a large number of biological processes, according to NASA. And "NASA" explains, "This element is a block on which DNA is built, leading to the formation of chromosomes and carrying genetic information, and it is present in mammalian bones and cell membranes." Phosphorous is included in the composition of molecules that carry energy, and it is necessary for the emergence of life, and it is indispensable.
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