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Grep News | Kali Kross
Enceladus Shoots Water Could Hydrothermal Vents Nurture Life
13 minutes Posted Feb 21, 2026 at 12:17 pm.
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A billion miles away, a moon is firehosing ocean water at 800 mph—and it’s loaded with salt, organics, and chemical energy. Enceladus shoots 300‑mile plumes from four 80‑mile “tiger stripes,” even feeding Saturn’s E‑ring; Cassini flew through them 23 times and found molecular hydrogen and silica—classic hydrothermal vent chemistry. Next up: NASA’s Enceladus Orbilander (launch ~2030s, arrive ~2040s) to sniff those plumes for biosignatures—maybe microbes—in a global ocean.