Is there an ocean on Enceladus?

The Cassini probe has discovered yet more evidence that a significant body of water exists on one of Saturn’s moons. In its latest sweep by the moon, the probe detected negatively charged water ions in the Enceladian atmosphere.

On Earth, those molecules are found near places where water crashes — near waves or waterfalls:

There are no “rollers” on the moon but it does have a very active region near its south pole where water vapour and ice particles shoot through cracks in the surface and rise high into the Enceladian sky.

Cassini was launched on October 15, 1997. In 2008, NASA received funding to extend the probe’s mission through 2017.