2004-04-05 | MISSIONS
ESA's 'Shipping Forecast' - from Titan!

The joint NASA/ESA Cassini/Huygens mission may soon be retuning the first scientific data about an extraterrestrial ocean. Part of the mission is to bring an end to 25 years of speculation from scientist about an ocean on Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

As the only moon in the solar system with a thick atmosphere (composed largely of nitrogen) and a sophisticated organic chemistry, Titan is of great interest to astrobiologists. Scientists are particularly curious about how methane supplies in Titan's atmosphere are replenished because it is not likely that there is life on Titan to generate methane via metabolic processes. Titan's surface is too cold for liquid water to exist, and life as we know it requires liquid water to survive. Some scientists believe that the gas could originate from oceans of methane on or beneath the moon's surface. Others believe Titan's methane could be left over from past life that existed during a time when the moon's surface was much warmer.

Some aspects of Titan's environment parallel that of the early Earth, and could tell us a great deal about the evolution of our planet and the terrestrial biosphere. The Huygens probe will also help answer many questions about the potential for life on Titan. Discovering signs of past or present life beyond Earth and developing the methods with which to recognize these signs are major goals of astrobiology. Determining the limits of life in extreme environments is also an important aspect of astrobiological research.

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