Enceladus is one of the most intriguing bodies in the solar system. In addition to having one of the brightest and youngest surfaces, this small Saturnian moon was recently discovered to have a plume erupting from its south polar terrain and a global subsurface ocean. The Cassini Mission discovered organics and nitrogen-bearing molecules in the plume, as well as salts and silicates that strongly suggest ocean water in contact with a rocky core. However, Cassini's instruments lack sufficient resolution and mass range to determine if these organics are of biotic origin. The Enceladus Life Finder (ELF) is a Discovery-class mission that would use two state-of-the-art mass spectrometers to target the gas and grains of the plume and search for evidence of life in this alien ocean.
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机译：Enceladus是太阳系中最有趣的身体之一。除了拥有最聪明和最年轻的表面之外，最近发现这一小型的月亮是从其南极地的地形和全球地下海洋爆发的羽毛。 Cassini任务在羽毛中发现了有机物和氮含量分子，以及盐和硅酸盐，强烈建议海水与岩石核心接触。然而，Cassini的仪器缺乏足够的分辨率和质量范围，以确定这些有机物是否具有生物来源。 Enceladus Life Finder（ELF）是一种发现级别的使命，它将利用两个最先进的质谱仪来瞄准羽流的气体和谷物，并寻找这种外星海洋的生命证据。
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