Issue: Beyond Global :)
Summary: In 2005, NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent pictures back to Earth depicting an icy Saturnian moon spewing water vapor and ice from fractures, known as "tiger stripes," in its frozen surface. It was big news that tiny Enceladus -- a mere 500 kilometers in diameter -- was such an active place. Since then, scientists have hypothesized that a large reservoir of water lies beneath that icy surface, possibly fueling the plumes. Now, using gravity measurements collected by Cassini, scientists have confirmed that Enceladus does in fact harbor a large subsurface ocean near its south pole, beneath those tiger stripes. The icy shell of the surface was known to possess a denser substance on the inside. Now that we know it is water, scientists are eager to learn what else exists on this moon.
Opinion: This is really cool. I think that something this bizarre definitely deserves the funding for further research. Who knows, there could be life in the water upon Enceladus like extremophiles and other bacterium.
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