Dr. McKay, who was not involved with gravity measurements, noted that only Enceladus was known to possess the four essential ingredients for life, at least as it exists on Earth: liquid water, energy, carbon and nitrogen.
“I would say it’s our best bet,” he said.
Mars has a dearth of nitrogen, found in amino acids and proteins, and the surface today is dry and cold. Europa, which also possesses an under-ice ocean, may have all of the ingredients, but that has not been confirmed.
Dr. McKay, who was not involved with gravity measurements, noted that only Enceladus was known to possess the four essential ingredients for life, at least as it exists on Earth: liquid water, energy, carbon and nitrogen.
“I would say it’s our best bet,” he said.
Mars has a dearth of nitrogen, found in amino acids and proteins, and the surface today is dry and cold. Europa, which also possesses an under-ice ocean, may have all of the ingredients, but that has not been confirmed.
Amusingly, I have Europa as a colony in a comic I write. In mentioning this elsewhere just now, a physicist has suggested this resource to me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_System_in_fiction#Comics_...
I shall have to learn yet more about our solar system so I can make up dumb bs for humor's sake.
(Not that I expect anyone here to really care. I am just cracking up over this.)