Saturn's A Ring has oxygen, but not life

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A natural color view of Saturn taken by the Cassini spacecraft on its approach to the planet
A natural color view of Saturn taken by the Cassini spacecraft on its approach to the planet

Data from the Cassini-Huygens satellite showing oxygen ions in the atmosphere around Saturn's rings suggests once again that molecular oxygen alone isn't a reliable indicator of whether a planet can support life.
That and other data are outlined in two papers in the Feb. 25 issue of the journal Science co-authored by University of Michigan engineering professors Tamas Gombosi, J. Hunter Waite and Kenneth Hansen; and T.E. Cravens from the University of Kansas. The papers belong to a series of publications on data collected by Cassini as it passed through the rings of Saturn on July 1.


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