The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released new images of Saturn’s moon Enceladus captured by Cassini spacecraft during a daring flyby of the moon. The photos are of the icy geyers on the southern pole of the moon.

In an unprocessed image of the moon’s plumes, glowing geysers can be seen. About the image, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said it looks like there is snow, but it is not. The image is unprocessed and streaks in the picture are from background stars, JPL added.

On Wednesday, Cassini, an unmanned spacecraft which has been studying Saturn and its many natural satellites since 2004, made a daring dive at about 30 miles from the surface of the sixth-largest moon of Saturn through the icy geysers. During the deepest dive, the spacecraft gathered some particles. Researchers at NASA have been looking for molecular hydrogen in these particles to know the amount of hydrothermal activity happening in the moon’s ocean.

As per the United States space agency, it could take some weeks to analyze the particles collected by the spacecraft’s instruments. The images released by NASA are providing amazing views of the moon, but it will be more interesting to know what space agency has found in those geyser particles.

NASA scientists have long theorized that the global ocean together with hydrothermal activity said to occur from within Enceladus' suggest that Saturn's moon has the ability to sustain simple life. As part of its ongoing mission to collect data from the Saturn's moon, the Cassini spacecraft measure the levels of molecular hydrogen found in Enceladus' plume. Molecular hydrogen, which is considered to be the lightest type molecule to be found in the universe, consists of two atoms of hydrogen that are stuck together.

The Cassini spacecraft is set to make its final pass of Enceladus by the end of the year, approaching the moon at an altitude of about 3,106 miles. This last mission is designed to measure the amount of heat coming from Enceladus' interior.

NASA release said, "Researchers will soon begin studying data from Cassini's gas analyzer and dust detector instruments, which directly sampled the moon's plume of gas and dust-sized icy particles during the flyby. Cassini's next and final close Enceladus flyby will take place on Dec. 19, when the spacecraft will measure the amount of heat coming from the moon's interior."

The south pole of Enceladus has been in the dark for about six years, so any images we see of the fractured, erupting surface will be lit only by Saturnshine, the sunlight reflected off the planet and its rings.

Linda Spilker, project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said, “Cassini's stunning images are providing us a quick look at Enceladus from this ultra-close flyby, but some of the most exciting science is yet to come”.