Saturn’s Moon Mimas Reveals Hidden Ocean Beneath Its Surface
Saturn’s moon Mimas, known for its heavily cratered surface and resemblance to the Death Star from Star Wars, has just unveiled its biggest secret: a hidden ocean beneath its icy shell. This discovery challenges scientists’ previous assumptions about the moon and adds it to the list of icy ocean worlds in our solar system.
The revelation comes from a study published in the journal Nature, which analyzed data collected by the Cassini space probe during its mission from 2004 to 2017. By observing Mimas’ orbital motion and spin as it orbited Saturn, scientists noticed subtle changes that indicated the presence of an underground ocean.
Mimas, with a diameter of less than 123 miles, is too small to be perfectly round and bears the scars of numerous impacts on its icy shell. Its most prominent crater, Herschel, covers a third of its face and gives it the nickname Death Star. Due to its unassuming appearance, scientists initially believed it was an unlikely candidate for harboring a subsurface ocean. However, the analysis of its orbital motion proved otherwise.
The estimated age of Mimas’ ocean is between 5 to 15 million years, making it relatively young compared to other ocean worlds in our solar system. For example, Enceladus, another moon of Saturn, formed its internal ocean approximately one billion years ago, while Europa, a moon of Jupiter, has had an ocean for nearly 4 billion years.
With this discovery, Mimas joins the ranks of Enceladus, Europa, Titan (another moon of Saturn), and Ganymede (a moon of Jupiter) as potential candidates for hosting life. These icy ocean worlds are considered prime targets for the search for extraterrestrial life since liquid water is a crucial ingredient for life as we know it on Earth.
Nick Cooper, co-author of the study and researcher at Queen Mary University of London, stated that Mimas’ recently formed ocean makes it an excellent subject for researchers investigating the origin of life. The simulations conducted as part of the study suggest that the ocean reached its current depth within the past 2 to 3 million years, offering a rare glimpse into the early conditions of habitability in our solar system.
While Mars remains a popular target for the search for habitable environments outside of Earth, the icy moons of Saturn and Jupiter hold great potential. The JUICE mission is currently en route to study Jupiter’s icy moons, aiming to find signs of habitability. Additionally, there are plans to send another spacecraft to Saturn and its moons, particularly Enceladus, in the future.
As we await further exploration and research, the discovery of a hidden ocean on Saturn’s moon Mimas sparks our imagination about the possibility of life existing in such a unique and disfigured environment. The animal kingdom may have to expand its imagination to include humans turning into creatures from these alien worlds.