A Pakistani-born scientist may have uncovered signs of life beyond our planet. Dr. Nozair Khawaja, an astrobiologist at Freie Universität Berlin, has identified organic molecules beneath the icy surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons. This discovery provides fresh evidence suggesting that Enceladus could have the conditions required to support life.
The study was published on October 1, 2025, in Nature Astronomy. Dr. Khawaja’s research team analyzed data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which had been exploring Saturn and its moons for over a decade before concluding its mission in 2017. The team specifically focused on the ice grains expelled by Enceladus’s geysers, which originate from the moon’s subsurface ocean. These geysers eject a mixture of water, gas, and dust into space.
The results were groundbreaking. Dr. Khawaja’s analysis revealed complex organic molecules, including ethers, alkenes, esters, and aromatic compounds. He explained that these molecules contain oxygen bridges, carbon-carbon bonds, and carbon rings, all of which are key intermediates in chemical reactions that could lead to the creation of life-sustaining molecules.
Although these molecules could form through non-biological processes, their presence in such an environment suggests the potential for life in Enceladus’s hidden ocean.
Enceladus possesses the three essential ingredients for life—liquid water, an energy source, and key chemical compounds. Despite its small size, just 505 kilometers in diameter, the moon has been identified as a likely candidate for sustaining life. The Cassini spacecraft’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer also detected phosphates, one of the six elements crucial for life—carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur (CHNOPS). Further, evidence of hydrothermal vents on Enceladus’s ocean floor, similar to those on Earth where microbial life thrives, strengthens the case for the moon’s potential habitability.
Dr. Khawaja emphasized the significance of his team’s findings, noting that the organic samples were collected just minutes after being ejected, ensuring that they were unaltered by space radiation. This confirms that the molecules came directly from the moon’s ocean.
While the presence of life on Enceladus is not yet confirmed, Dr. Khawaja remains optimistic. He believes that the moon remains one of the most promising places in the solar system to explore further. “We don’t know if life exists there, but Enceladus remains one of the best places in our solar system to find out,” he said.
Dr. Khawaja, born in Wazirabad, Punjab, completed his Master’s in Astronomy and Space Sciences at Punjab University before earning a PhD in Geosciences from Heidelberg University in Germany. He later conducted postdoctoral research focusing on planetary habitability and extraterrestrial chemistry at the Institute of Earth Sciences in Heidelberg.
