NASA researchers claim on a press conference that they have discovered an essential element for life on Enceladus,  Saturn’s moon: Hydrogen.

This would mean a possible existence of extraterrestrial life.

The Cassini evidence, which we discuss about in this article, detected hydrogen in Enceladus’s hydrothermal holes.

“We are getting closer to discover a place that contains all the ingredients of life” said Thomas Zurbuchen of NASA.

The presence of this essential element in moon oceans suggests that there could be microbial life, because hydrogen (in gaseous state) combined with carbon dioxide could provide energy. This process is called ‘metanogenesis’ and it is the base of life on our planet.

Hydrogen was detected for the first time on October 28, 2015 with the help of Cassini spacecraft.

First time when the spacecraft saw the icy geyser was in 2005, near South Pole of Enceladus.

‘The Enceladus steam jets are associated with a warmer region of the star, after Hubble recorded the new European phenomenon, we analyzed the location on the Galileo thermal map. We have discovered that the steam jets in Europe are closer to this thermal anomaly than we thought’ says Wiliam Sparks, Hubble’s principal investigator.