Cassini spacecraft set for fly-by on Saturn’s water-world moon

A spacecraft will this week be sent plunging deep through a fountain of icy spray erupting from an extraterrestrial ocean that could harbour life.

The historic fly-by will mark the most exciting attempt yet to unlock the hidden secrets of Saturn’s water-world moon Enceladus.

Scientists confirmed last month that the small satellite – which at 310 miles across is a seventh of the size of Earth’s moon – has a global ocean covered by an icy shell.