Scientists Discover Oxygen on the Moon Dione

Scientists find 'traces' of oxygen (O2) on the moon Dione, one of Saturn's moon. The discovery was achieved through a spacecraft called Cassini is detecting the presence of clumps of oxygen.

Expected, the energy of the intense radiation field of the planet Saturn or charged particles from the sun can stimulate the oxygen atoms in the ice, so the O2 gas is released.

However, like other of Saturn's moon, Dione surface state of the barren and cold. Scientists think about the level of detection for survival of life on the moon is still low, especially for human habitation.

This finding is not surprising, before the oxygen has been detected in Saturn's rings of ice and the atmosphere on the moon Rhea (Saturn's moon to another).

"We know that Dione, in addition to Saturn rings and moon Rhea, have a source of molecular oxygen" said Robert Tokar, Cassini team member of the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

"This suggests that molecular oxygen is actually common in the Saturn system and reinforce that it could have come from processes that do not involve life," he explained

"The concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere of the moon Dione is roughly similar to what you find in the planet's atmosphere at an altitude of about 300 miles (480 kilometers). It's not enough to sustain life," he explained.

Amanda Hendrix, deputy Scintist Project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory revealed the discovery of the moon Dione with molecular oxygen is a very interesting case of what is expected.

According to him, scientists are currently exploring the data through Cassini spacecraft on the moon Dione to find out more detail.