Two new studies suggest Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus may be more hospitable to life than scientists thought. The research appeared in the journal Science Advances on September 25.

In one study, an Earth microbe that makes methane grew under chemical conditions chosen to mimic Enceladus’s hidden ocean. The result shows known life could, in theory, survive there.

The second study found that freezing and shattering of ice grains could concentrate organic material in the moon’s famous plumes. That would make future life-detection missions more likely to succeed.

Scientists stressed that no life has been found on Enceladus. The moon’s subsurface ocean remains one of the best places to search, alongside Europa.

NASA and European teams are designing missions to fly through the plumes and taste their chemistry. The new findings strengthen the case for going back.

The plumes were first spotted by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which flew through them and tasted their chemistry. Cassini’s data showed the spray contains water, salts and organic molecules.