The evidence that an ocean-covered moon orbiting around Saturn could support life just got a little stronger.

Enceladus, a small moon harboring a vast ocean beneath its icy surface, has long been considered one of our solar system's best places to search for conditions suitable for extraterrestrial life – and perhaps, even life itself.

Scientists revisiting old data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which ended its mission in 2017, have found organic molecules both new and old originating from the icy jets that spew saltwater into space from the surface of Enceladus.

While no life has been found on the 310-mile-wide moon, the discovery confirms that building blocks for it could be present, Nozair Khawaja, a planetary scientist at the Free University of Berlin in Germany, who led the study, said in a press release.

Here's everything to know about Enceladus, the new discovery and the search for life beyond Earth.

What is Saturn’s moon Enceladus?

While a few worlds in the Milky Way are believed to have liquid water hiding beneath a frozen surface, Enceladus isn't quite as secretive about its subterranean ocean.

The small, icy world is home to water-spouting geysers that spew vapor and ice particles into space – offering a tangible clue to its subsurface saltwater ocean. From samples that various spacecraft have collected, scientists have determined that Enceladus has most of the chemical ingredients required for life, according to NASA.

Though Enceladus is only about as wide as Arizona, the world is named after a giant in Greek mythology. The surface of the moon is notably smooth, white and reflective, with a surface temperature that extremely cold – about negative 330 degrees Fahrenheit.

Scientists find moon has conditions to support life

Because the planet is so cold, most of the material it spews out falls like snow back to the moon’s surface. Some of it, though, remains in space to help form Saturn's E-ring – the second outermost of Saturn's rings – which is where scientists turn to gather observations on Enceladus’ ocean.

While scientists have found evidence of organic molecules in the E-ring before, the team of researchers turned to observations made by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft in 2008 during a close flyby of Enceladus. The probe, which launched in 1997, spent years studying Saturn's icy moons before it was deliberately plunged into Saturn in 2017, ending its mission.

During the flyby, icy grains stuck to the spacecraft before they were altered by space radiation in the E-ring. Within those grains, Khawaja and his team found not just frozen water, but the same organic molecules observed in the E-ring.

Other organic molecules not previously detected were also found that, on Earth, lead to life's building blocks.

The findings, the team said, strengthen the case for Enceladus being habitable – though they are not claiming to have found evidence of life itself. Rather, the researchers claim the evidence they found warrants follow-up missions to the moon to search for signs of life.

The findings were published Wednesday, Oct. 1, in the journal Nature Astronomy.

How many moons does Saturn have? Mimas also has water

Saturn's system is positively teeming with moons, where Enceladus is one of 274 natural satellites orbiting the ringed planet. A whopping 128 of those were just discovered in March 2025.

The moons range from planet-sized Titan to smaller oddities, some of which are strangely shaped like potatoes or ravioli.

In fact, Enceladus isn't even the only one potentially home to water.

In 2024, a French team of researchers found evidence of a vast liquid ocean beneath the icy exterior of Mimas. The revelation means life could possibly exist on a tiny world paradoxically nicknamed "the Death Star" – a moniker due to the crater on its surface that lends it the look of the planet-killing weapon from "Star Wars."

NASA, meanwhile, has also sent an uncrewed spacecraft to another planet's moon to hunt for signs of habitability. The Europa Clipper spacecraft is due to reach Jupiter's moon of the same name in 2030 and begin conducting flybys to observe the icy world, where water is believed to exist beneath the surface.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Moon of Saturn could be suitable for life. Scientists found new evidence to confirm it

Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect