Phosphate, the most basic building block of life, consisting of 1 phosphorus and 4 oxygen atoms, was discovered for the first time in an ocean outside Earth. The ocean where phosphate is found is located on Enceladus, Saturn’s sixth largest ice-covered moon.
The success, signed by scientists from the Universities of Washington and Berlin, was made possible by the data obtained from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. Moreover, the amount of phosphate in the satellite is at least 100 times greater than the amount on Earth.
There was also some struggle to explore:
Fabian Klenner, one of the names who led the research, stated that they saw an inexplicable sign in the data collected by the Cassian spacecraft. In order to make sense of this chemical sign, he and his team created different chemical compositions in the laboratory environment.
One of the compounds formed was phosphate. Comparing the measurements made with the composition in the laboratory environment and the data from the spacecraft, all the measurements agreed with each other. Therefore, it became clear that the substance found on the satellite was phosphate.
What is the significance of the phosphate discovery?
Phosphate is one of the most basic building blocks that make up DNA in all life forms on Earth. It is also found in bones and cell membranes.
Phosphate is, therefore, one of the main consideration factors in the search for all planets thought to be habitable or inhabitable in outer space.
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