Is there life on one of Saturn’s moons? Scientists plan a mission to find out

The discovery of water on Enceladus excited the scientific world - now, by 2040 a robot probe will investigate if we are alone in the universe

It is a tiny world, a mere 310 miles in diameter, and was considered until recently to be one of the least interesting moons in the solar system. But Enceladus, one of 146 moons that orbit Saturn, has become a hot astronomical attraction - scientists have discovered that it offers one of the best prospects of finding life on another world in our solar system.

The European Space Agency (Esa) has announced it has begun planning a mission to take a robot probe across a billion miles of space to investigate.