2003-04-02 | MISSIONS, TECHNOLOGIES
Splashing Down on Titan's Oceans

In 2005, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will deliver the European Space Agency's (ESA) Huygens probe to the surface of Titan. The joint mission is already en route and scientists here on Earth are using ground-based telescopes to pick the perfect landing site for Huygens.

The first detailed images of Titan were obtained by NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft and raised many questions about the nature of the moon and its environment. Titan has an atmosphere that, like Earth, is mostly nitrogen but also contains methane and organic compounds. Scientists are very curious about how methane supplies in the 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.

The Huygens probe will help answer many questions about the potential for life on Titan. Discovering evidence 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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