Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and is also the only moon in our solar system that has its own atmosphere. Moreover, it is also the only object (apart from Earth) where surface reservoirs of liquid, such as lakes of liquid methane, have been discovered. Therefore, some scientists believe that it is an almost ideal place where certain forms of life can exist.
Titan’s atmosphere is denser than Earth’s, is orange in color and consists mainly of nitrogen with some argon, ethane and acetylene. This atmosphere allows only 10 percent to pass through. sun rays.
Previously conducted simulations indicated that there is enough organic matter on Titan to enable chemical evolution similar to that which could have originated on our planet. Titan is an icy moon, so under a thick layer of ice there may be an ocean of liquid water – this is where life could develop. Other hypotheses suggest that certain forms of life may develop in methane lakes located on the surface.
An artist’s vision of Titan’s surface with lakes of liquid methane /pitris /123RF/PICSEL
As Dr. Catherine Neish, an astrobiologist at the University of Western Ontario, said: “Unfortunately, we will now have to be a little less optimistic in the search for extraterrestrial life in our own solar system.” The scientific community has been very excited about finding life on the icy worlds of the outer Solar System, and this discovery suggests it may be less likely than we previously thought.
Researchers believe that the best chance of finding life on Titan lies in its subsurface oceans. They state that for it to develop there, the organic matter present on the surface would have to “seep” into subsequent layers.
In their recent research, specialists focused on estimating the flow of this type of particles through the moon’s surroundings. The driving force of migration would be impact craters. In these places, particles would mix with liquid water, which would then seep through the thick icy crust into the vast ocean.
As it turned out, the obtained research results are far from the assumptions. The rate of this process only moves about 7,500 kg of organic particles per year – slightly more than the weight of an elephant. Therefore, scientists conclude that Titan is barren due to the lack of free carbon circulation.
One elephant a year releases glycine into the ocean with a volume 12 times larger than the volume of Earth’s oceans, which is not enough to sustain life. In the past, people often assumed that water was life, but they ignored the fact that life requires other elements, especially carbon.
Catherine Neish
He adds: – This work shows that it is very difficult to move carbon from Titan’s surface to the subsurface ocean – in fact, it is difficult to have the water and carbon needed for life in the same place.
The scientific article also reads: “Biologically available compounds cannot originate from within Titan or be delivered from the surface by other mechanisms. Our calculations suggest that even the most organic-rich ocean in the Solar System may not be able to support a large biosphere.” .
Researchers agree that to fully answer all the pressing questions, it is necessary to land on the lunar surface, collect samples and analyze them later.
In 2028, a special drone from the NASA Dragonfly project is scheduled to land on Titan. Its main goal will be to search for prebiotic reactions that would reveal how life could arise on celestial bodies other than Earth. At the same time, we cannot lose hope that these studies will show that, after all, there is life on Titan.
The research results were published in a scientific journal Astrobiology.
A teenager from Poland awarded by NASA for the photo of the Wolf Moon. Polsat News
2024-02-25 13:23:53
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