An international team of scientists says it has found high levels of phosphorus in ice from Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
一个国际科学家小组表示，他们在土星卫星土卫二的冰中发现了高浓度的磷。
Phosphorus is a necessary element for many biological processes on Earth.
磷是地球上许多生命过程所必需的元素。
The researchers said the ice crystals shot out from an ocean beneath the moon’s surface.
研究人员说，冰晶从月球表面下的海洋中喷出。
The discovery came from data collected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft.
这一发现来自美国国家航空航天局卡西尼号航天器收集的数据。
Cassini collected the data during its 13-year exploration of the huge planet, its rings, and its moons from 2004 to 2017.
卡西尼号从2004年到2017年对这颗巨大的行星、土星环和卫星进行了13年的探测，收集了这些数据。
Cassini was the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn.
卡西尼号是第一艘环绕土星飞行的宇宙飞船。
The German-led team published their findings in Nature, a science magazine.
德国领导的研究小组在科学杂志《自然》上发表了他们的发现。
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the western U.S. state of California also announced the findings.
位于美国西部加利福尼亚州的NASA喷气推进实验室(JPL)也宣布了这一发现。
JPL designed and built the Cassini spacecraft.
喷气推进实验室设计并建造了卡西尼号宇宙飞船。
Earlier, the same team confirmed that Enceladus’ ice grains are rich in minerals and complex organic compounds.
早些时候，同一个小组证实了土卫二的冰粒富含矿物质和复杂的有机化合物。
The team said the ice includes the necessary elements to create amino acids, which are important molecular structures for life.
研究小组说，冰中含有产生氨基酸的必要元素，而氨基酸是生命的重要分子结构。
Phosphorus is the least common of the six chemical elements considered necessary to all living things.
磷是所有生物必需的六种化学元素中最不常见的。
The others are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur.
其他的是碳、氧、氢、氮和硫。
Now, scientists have found them all on Enceladus.
现在，科学家们已经在土卫二上发现了它们。
“It’s the first time this essential element has been discovered in an ocean beyond Earth,” said the study’s lead writer, Frank Postberg.
“这是第一次在地球以外的海洋中发现这种基本元素，”该研究的主要作者弗兰克·波斯特伯格说。
He is a planetary scientist at the Free University in Berlin in Germany.
他是德国柏林自由大学的行星科学家。
Phosphorus is necessary for DNA, the genetic instructions in cells.
磷是DNA所必需的，DNA是细胞中的遗传指令。
It is also an important part of energy formation and transportation in life on Earth.
它也是地球上生命能量形成和运输的重要组成部分。
The researchers studied measurements taken by Cassini as it passed through salt-rich ice grains released into space by geysers found on the southern part of the moon.
研究人员研究了卡西尼号在穿过富含盐的冰粒时所做的测量，这些冰粒是由在卫星南部发现的间歇泉释放到太空中的。
The geysers were erupting from the ice-covered ocean beneath the surface of Enceladus.
间歇泉是从土卫二表面下被冰覆盖的海洋喷发出来的。
The substances are the same material that creates one of Saturn’s rings, called the “E” ring.
这些物质与形成土星环之一“E”环的物质相同。
The E ring can be found outside the planet’s brighter main rings.
E环可以在行星较亮的主环之外找到。
Cassini discovered the ice-covered ocean.
卡西尼号发现了被冰覆盖的海洋。
Since then, Enceladus has been a favorable target in the search for places in our solar system that could support life.
从那以后，土卫二一直是寻找太阳系中可能存在生命的地方的有利目标。
Enceladus is about one-seventh the size of Earth’s moon and the sixth largest among Saturn’s 146 known natural satellites.
土卫二的大小约为地球月球的七分之一，在土星已知的146颗天然卫星中排名第六。
Jupiter’s moon Europa is also believed to have an ocean beneath its icy surface.
木星的卫星木卫二也被认为在其结冰的表面下有海洋。
Computer modeling by the study’s co-writers in Europe and Japan shows that phosphorus exists in concentrations at least 100 times higher than in Earth’s oceans.
该研究在欧洲和日本的合著者的计算机模拟显示，磷的浓度至少比地球海洋中的浓度高100倍。
Christopher Glein is a planetary scientist at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.
克里斯托弗·格莱因是德克萨斯州圣安东尼奥西南研究所的行星科学家。
He took part in the research.
他参与了这项研究。
He said the discovery was important.
他说，这一发现很重要。
Glein said there could be enough phosphorus to support life in Enceladus’ ocean.
格莱因说，土卫二的海洋中可能有足够的磷来维持生命。
The scientists noted that finding phosphorus, complex organic compounds, water, and other things is evidence that Enceladus could possibly support life.
科学家们指出，在土卫二上发现了磷、复杂的有机化合物、水和其他物质，这证明土卫二可能存在生命。
Life, either past or present, has not been confirmed anywhere beyond Earth.
生命，无论是过去还是现在，都没有在地球以外的任何地方被证实。
“Whether life could have originated in Enceladus’ ocean remains an open question,” Glein added.
“生命是否起源于土卫二的海洋仍然是一个悬而未决的问题，”格莱因补充道。
I’m Gregory Stachel.
格雷戈里·斯塔切尔报道。
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