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Cassini to Capture Clues from Saturn's Icy Moon

This March 9, 2006, NASA photo shows the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus as seen from Cassini Enlarge image i

This photo released by NASA on March 9, 2006, shows the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus as seen from the Cassini spacecraft. Three years after Yellowstone-like geysers were spied on the icy moon, the international spacecraft is poised to plunge through the mysterious plumes March 12, 2008, to learn whether the environment can support life.

NASA, JPL, Space Science Institute/AP
This March 9, 2006, NASA photo shows the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus as seen from Cassini

This photo released by NASA on March 9, 2006, shows the surface of Saturn's moon Enceladus as seen from the Cassini spacecraft. Three years after Yellowstone-like geysers were spied on the icy moon, the international spacecraft is poised to plunge through the mysterious plumes March 12, 2008, to learn whether the environment can support life.

NASA, JPL, Space Science Institute/AP

The Cassini spacecraft is on track Wednesday to skim past Saturn's moon, Enceladus, right through the plume of an "ice geyser" that is throwing material out into space. The volcano may be fed by an underground ocean. Scientists recently discovered that Enceladus has a thin atmosphere, and they say it is the sort of place that theoretically could support some form of life.

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