The possibility of alien life is something that intrigues each one of us. The non-believers can keep denying it, but, the existence of extraterrestrial is undoubtedly a fascinating thing.

In a groundbreaking announcement, NASA scientists said that Saturn's moon Enceladus could have conditions to support alien life.

NASA

According to NASA’s official press release, they made the discovery using the Cassini space probe which has been studying the icy surface of Saturn's moon. In Saturn’s sixth largest moon, Enceladus, Cassini spacecraft detected an four “tiger stripes” near its south pole, which spews out water. The spacecraft found an abundance of hydrogen molecules in the water plumes.

That's not all, the Cassini mission also found evidence for a subsurface ocean underneath the icy crust of the moon.

Hydrothermal vents detected on Saturn's Moon/NASA

In its press release, NASA pointed out that the key ingredients of life include carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulphur and that moon of Saturn has almost all of the ingredients of life.

Space agency scientists believe that just like on Earth, there could be microbial life in the moon’s ocean. Hydrothermal chemical reactions occur deep in the ocean when cold water interacts with molten rocks.

"Although we can't detect life, we've found that there's a food source there for it. It would be like a candy store for microbes," said Hunter Waite, lead author of the Cassini study.

"Now, Enceladus is high on the list in the solar system for showing habitable conditions, the presence of hydrogen established another reference point saying there is hydrothermal activity inside this body, and that's interesting because we know in our own oceans, those are very important places that are teeming with life, and they are probably one of the earliest places where life happened on Earth," adds Hunter Waite.

While the possibility of life existing on Enceladus is still a speculation, the new discovery is the closest we've come, so far to detecting life beyond earth. Europa and Enceladus are both showcasing some of these key conditions for life and that's why researchers think it's the best bet to find extraterrestrial life.