News Planetary Science

Cosmic rays could, in theory, sustain life on other worlds

The radiation can break underground water into an ingredient for life-giving energy

Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, covered in ice and fractures that look like veins.

Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, could theoretically harbor underground life sustained by cosmic rays, according to a new study.

JPL/NASA, Space Science Institute

By McKenzie Prillaman

Galactic cosmic rays — high-energy particles from outside the solar system — could theoretically power life on certain frigid worlds.