Cassini’s Journey Is Dangerous
New Horizons has made some pretty good progress in terms of distance and the same can be said about NASA’s Cassini. In fact, Cassini’s journey is dangerous right now, especially with the passing through towards Saturn’s Enceladus moon. The mission is one of great importance, since it might reveal whether there has ever been life in this area of our solar system ever before.
The main issue is that this is quite a risky mission and it is also very difficult to complete since it needs the appropriate conditions in order to do so. What is actually happening is that the moon has “fractures” on its southern pole and these fractures emit water into space that scientists believe to have great value in determining anything about this celestial body.
The water is spit into space at regular intervals and scientists widely agree that this water is found beneath the moon’s surface. It might as well be an underground ocean that hosts a great number of bacteria, or even other life forms. The mission is difficult because Cassini needs to bass right above the fractures when water is emitted and it needs to do it with great speed.
If the appropriate conditions are met, then Cassini can gather some of the water for scientists to analyze. If the appropriate moment is not seized, then water simply fades into space and none of the data can be recovered. Thus, Cassini needs to try again and again until it finally gets it right. It is a tedious process, but it is definitely worth the effort if it going to reveal life that we have not witnessed before.
Discovering alien life is a highly debated subject among scientists nowadays, with some believing that by the end of 2050, humans will have discovered other life forms outside of Earth. It is only a matter of time until we get there. But technological advancement and the will to press on are the two main fuels that aid great people towards discovering the wonders that this Universe has to offer.
Some are skeptical, however, and do not believe that we will find anything out there or, in the worst possible scenario, it is not good if we find anything. As far as we know, there is no alien life outside Earth or if there is any, it is not aware of our existence. Humans are obsessed with knowledge and control, but the question remains very simple: what if there is something out there that we cannot control?
Cassini’s journey is dangerous, both physically and philosophically.
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