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Enceladus’s Hidden Ocean & A Busy Week in Space Exploration
From icy moons to interstellar comets — what’s happening in space this week
Javier García
November 10, 2025
In partnership with
Introduction
Welcome to another exciting week!
Content:
Best image of the week
This week’s top image captures the icy surface and plume-activity regions of the moon Enceladus, one of Saturn’s most intriguing satellites. Recent supercomputer simulations using data from past missions reveal the hidden subsurface ocean beneath Enceladus’s crust. Scientists have mapped how cryovolcanic geysers eject ice and water into space, gradually depleting the moon’s outer shell. The visuals show the so-called “tiger stripe” fractures from which plumes emerge, giving a rare glimpse into a deep subsurface watery environment that might – just might – harbour conditions favourable for life.
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Last week news
Bold Date: November 3, 2025 — A major discovery: researchers detected phosphine gas in the atmosphere of the brown dwarf Wolf 1130C, located about 54 light-years away. The presence of phosphine in such a low-metallicity environment challenges existing models of atmospheric chemistry in brown dwarfs and exoplanet analogues.
Bold Date: November 5, 2025 — The return of the Shenzhou‑20 crew to Earth was delayed after their spacecraft was apparently struck by a piece of orbital debris. The mission aboard the Chinese station Tiangong remains in a holding pattern while engineers assess risks.
Bold Date: November 6, 2025 — The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS continues to surprise scientists, having brightened unexpectedly as it passed by the Sun. Its unusual behaviour has sparked discussions about the composition of interstellar visitors and our ability to study them.
Bold Date: November 8, 2025 — SpaceX launched a batch of 29 Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 for the mission “Starlink 10-51”. The booster successfully landed on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas”, marking another increment in reusable launch technology.
Bold Date: November 9, 2025 — Blue Origin scrubbed the planned launch of its second-flight New Glenn rocket carrying the twin Mars probes of the ESCAPADE mission due to adverse weather and regulatory constraints amid a U.S. government shutdown.
Upcoming events
Bold Date: November 12, 2025 — Tentative launch window for Blue Origin’s New Glenn NG-2 rocket carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE twin satellites (“Blue” and “Gold”) bound for Mars. This mission aims to explore Mars’ magnetic environment and pioneer new trajectories for future crewed missions.
Bold Date: November 17, 2025 — Peak of the Leonid Meteor Shower. Sky-watchers in dark locations may catch a good display as the Moon rises late, offering favourable conditions.
Bold Date: November 10–11, 2025 — A G2 geomagnetic watch is in effect due to incoming coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun; aurora-watchers at high latitudes may get a show.
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Mobile wallpaperToday’s wallpaper features a breathtaking view of Enceladus, capturing the icy moon’s surface fractures and active plumes of water vapour and ice grains. The underlying scientific context: the moon harbours a global subsurface ocean beneath its icy crust, as shown in recent models and data analyses. This underwater ocean environment, venting into space, makes Enceladus one of the most compelling locations in the Solar System for astrobiology. You can download a high-resolution version of this image (optimised for mobile screens) from the relevant space agency’s archive. Ideal for a home or lock screen, it blends scientific curiosity with visual beauty. The icy terrain and active geology serve as a reminder that even small moons harbour dynamic processes. |  |
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