Phosphorus is essential part of life on Earth to build DNA (and RNA) and a limiting factor for the growth of life. A team of scientists, led by Professor Frank Postberg at Freie Universitat Berlin found an ingredient for life beyond Earth. It is matter of pride for Pakistan that Dr. Nozair Khwaja, a Pakistani-born scientists was also one of the members of this team. Dr. Khwaja played a vital role in discovering the key ingredient for life.
While making research on the data, gathered by the NASAs Cassini space mission, this discovery came out. For the first time, phosphorus was detected in an extraterrestrial ocean beneath Enceladus.
In an email to the media channel, leader of the team, Professor Postberg said, The results show the presence of substantial quantities of phosphorus in Enceladuss ocean water and our geochemical experiments tell us why its ocean is so enriched with this essential compound capered to Earths ocean.
Dr. Nozair Khwaja said, With the discovery of phosphorus, Enceladus has revealed the full squad of all six bio-essential elements (C,H,N,O,P and S) required for life. ?Enceladus has a width of only 500 km. During the work, the NASA team captured a staggering 453,058 images of Saturn and its moons, conducting 162 targeted flybys of Saturns moon and the existence of six new moons.