Scientists say archaea could survive in Enceladus' ocean

Researchers recreated the conditions thought to exist on the seafloor of Saturn's moon Enceladus and found that microorganisms called archaea could adapt to live there. The study is not proof of alien life, but it supports future missions to return samples from the moon's ocean; ESA plans a launch in 2042.

• Enceladus is a roughly 500 km icy moon of Saturn with a salty ocean beneath its crust
• In lab experiments, archaea adapted to the geochemistry of the moon's seafloor
• Authors stress the work is not proof of life, only evidence of habitability
• ESA plans a mission to collect samples from Enceladus' ocean, launching in 2042