NASA has released astonishing images of the icy geysers of Enceladus, Saturn's moon, captured by the space probe Cassini after a successful flyby on Wednesday. Scientists are now scrutinizing the photos to determine whether the icy-surfaced moon is viable for life.

"Cassini's stunning images are providing us a quick look at Enceladus from this ultra-close flyby, but some of the most exciting science is yet to come," said NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission project's scientist Linda Spillker.

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During the flyby, the spacecraft passed above the south polar region of the moon, about 49 kilometers away. To be clear, this flyby is not nearest to the moon, but the deepest dive to the plume. "If [life] arose twice in one solar system, the implications for how probable and how frequent it arises in the universe as a whole are profound," Curt Niebur, program scientist of Cassini.

Scientists will analyze the data from Cassini's gas analyser and dust detector instruments. NASA aims to obtain essential information about the ocean's composition and hydrothermal activity by checking for the presence of molecular hydrogen in the ocean floor of Enceladus. "Cassini's instruments do not have the capability to detect life itself... those instruments can, however, make powerful measurements about the ocean and its potential habitability," Spillker said.

Researchers have always been interested in Saturn's moon following their discovery that ice fountains continually erupts from its surface. They believe that spots where these fountains sprout from may possibly be suitable for human life.

Despite the small size of Enceladus (300 miles to be precise), it is one of the few places on the universe with water. Cassini has been probing Saturn since 2004. It is set for another flyby mission on December 19 before the spacecraft ends its mission in 2017 by directly plunging into Saturn.

TagsNASA, Enceladus, Saturn, life after earth, cassini