Q&A with Jonathan Lunine on Enceladus’ prospects for life

Continuing to make discoveries in the final weeks of a historic mission at Saturn, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has recorded a unique time lapse movie looking out toward the planet’s iconic icy rings.

Iridium chief executive Matt Desch spoke with Spaceflight Now on the eve of the first launch for the company’s next-generation satellite fleet, discussing the $3 billion upgrade’s technical and financial ramifications and his feelings before deployments begin in orbit.

Scientists announced Thursday that measurements from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft detected hydrogen gas, a key energy source for microbial life, in a plume gushing from a vast liquid water ocean buried beneath the icy shell of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.