Enceladus as a place of origin of life in the Solar System

Abstract

Enceladus, a satellite of Saturn, with its radius of 250 km is the smallest geologically active celestial body in the Solar System. Our model of core origin and evolution indicates that for hundreds of My there were conditions preferable an origin of life. We continue consideration of hypotheses that Enceladus was a cradle of the life in the Solar System. We found that simple organisms could be ejected in icy grains into space by volcanic jets or by meteoroid impacts. Several mechanisms could be responsible for later transport of the grains to the early Earth and other terrestrial planets. We suggest that Enceladus is the most appropriate body for a cradle of life in the Solar System.