Another space mission was placed on the proverbial shoulders of the Cassini spacecraft. It has been tasked to investigate the icy plumes erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus.

These plumes were noted a couple of years ago when Cassini first flew within the area and spotted a dozen jets of water vapor and ice crystals spraying out of warm fissures near the moon's South Pole. What made them odd was that the 500 km wide Enceladus didn't seem large enough to hold such violent volcanic activity.

Scientists surmise that the small moon may contain a liquid water ocean beneath its surface. The upcoming mission will take a look into the nature of these geysers and the possibility of Enceladus being capable of sustaining life.

Another possibility for the formation of these plumes may be due to vapor wafting off the relatively warm ice found near Enceladus' surface. A magnetometer on Cassini will also analyze if the moon generates an induced magnetic field from the possible subsurface ocean.

By now the Cassini spacecraft is still on its way towards Enceladus. Hopefully, the data compiled from this observation will help unveil the mystery behind this phenomenon.