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May anyone tell me does it known if Enceladus has water and is that water salty?

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Like many bodies in the outer solar system, Enceladus is covered in water ice. It is also strongly believed to have liquid water underneath the ice, as we have observed (with the Cassini probe) plumes of water from its polar regions.

The water is salty and alkali due to the dissolved salts and the reactions of water with the underlying rocks. The plumes contain sodium chloride.

So there is a salty ocean under the ice of Enceladus. There is also likely to be water under the ice of other moons, such as Europa.

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    $\begingroup$ "For sure" is never the case in science. This is about as certain as anything in planetary observation gets. The Cassini mission has seen salty water spraying into space. That water must be coming from somewhere. $\endgroup$
    – James K
    May 19, 2019 at 18:52

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