The Case for Enceladus Science

Enceladus has taken its place as one of the most remarkable moons in the solar system. When Voyager encountered Enceladus it was noted that its surface showed signs of recent activity with the observations of a large province, which was characterized by smooth sparsely cratered terrain. Even the heavily cratered areas of Enceladus showed a lower crater density than other Saturnian satellites. Moreover, its extraordinarily high albedo hinted at past cryovolcanic resurfacing events. Ground-based observations further demonstrated that Saturn's diffuse E-ring is concentrated at the orbit of EnceladLis, making the moon, the likely source of E-ring particles. However the short estimated lifetime of E-ring particles requires that new particles must constantly be fed to the Ering, implying more recent activity on Enceladus. Recently, in 2005 the Cassini spacecraft provided definitive proof that Enceladus is currently geologically active when multiple Cassini instruments detected plumes of gas and ice particles emanating from a series of warm fractures centered on the south pole, dubbed the tiger stripes. Enceladus is the second cryovolcanically active icy satellite that has been identified (Triton is the only other known active icy satellite) and can be used to study active processes that are thought to have once played a role in shaping the surfaces of other icy satellites. These processes include tidal heating, cryovolcanism, and ice tectonism, which all can be studied as they currently happen on Enceladus, Moreover, the plume source region on Enceladus samples a warm, chemically rich, environment that may facilitate complex organic chemistry and biological processes. For these reasons, Enceladus science is highly relevant to NASA's goals.