New gravity data from recent Cassini flybys of the giant planet suggest that Dione's crust floats on an ocean 62 miles below the surface, and may harbor microbial life.
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists and an international research team have announced discovery of molecular oxygen ions (O2+) in the upper-most atmosphere of Dione, one of the 62 known moons orbiting the ringed planet. The research appeared recently in Geophysical Research Letters and was made possible via instruments aboard NASA's Cassini spacecraft, which was launched in 1997.
