NASA Made a Game-Changing Discovery on Saturn's Moon

Bright Side

NASA has made an incredible discovery on one of Saturn’s moons, and it could change everything we know about space! Enceladus, a tiny icy moon, might actually have the right conditions for life. Scientists found that it’s hiding a salty ocean under its icy shell, and there are even geysers shooting water into space! What’s wild is that they also detected important building blocks for life, like carbon, in that water. This discovery has scientists super excited because it’s one of the best chances we’ve got to find alien life in our solar system.

Transcript

00:00Prepare for blast-off, because there's some exciting news from NASA coming our way.

00:07Care to look into the fascinating world of Saturn's moon, Titan?

00:11NASA's groundbreaking Dragonfly Rotorcraft lander is set to take off in 2027,

00:17looking to explore this mysterious space object.

00:21Now let me introduce you to Titan.

00:24It's an icy celestial body with an atmosphere filled with nitrogen,

00:27and it might even have an underground ocean.

00:31Titan is also home to rivers and lakes that flow on its surface.

00:36But guess what? They're not filled with water like our lovely planet.

00:40They have methane instead.

00:43Now let's check out Titan's celestial credentials.

00:46It's not just any moon. It's the second largest in our entire solar system.

00:52It's only 2% smaller than the biggest moon we have hanging around our neighborhood,

00:56which is Jupiter's Ganymede.

00:59Titan's size even puts Mercury to shame.

01:02And did I mention that its atmosphere is 4 times denser than that of Earth's?

01:07Thanks to Titan's lower gravity and thick atmosphere,

01:11Dragonfly is the perfect robotic companion to uncover its hidden treasures.

01:16Let's move on to Dragonfly, the star of NASA's upcoming mission to Titan.

01:21This cosmic drone is not your average explorer.

01:24Equipped with a full array of interesting gadgets,

01:28Dragonfly is like a flying laboratory, ready to uncover more secrets of Titan.

01:33It's the first interplanetary rotorcraft lander probe,

01:37designed to take us on an epic journey of discovery.

01:41And don't let its name fool you.

01:43Dragonfly won't just buzz around aimlessly.

01:46This technological marvel is able to glide for several miles

01:50between different locations on Titan's surface.

01:52Think of it as a cosmic uber-service for scientists.

01:56And speaking of technology,

01:58Dragonfly is carrying some seriously cool equipment.

02:02It'll feature the Drill for Acquisition of Complex Organics,

02:06Draco, instrument,

02:07which will help us scoop out material from Titan.

02:10While the Dragonfly mass spectrometer,

02:12Grams,

02:13will analyze what these samples are made of.

02:15But how did we stumble upon Titan?

02:20It was March 25th, 1655,

02:23when a Dutch astronomer was out there with his telescope,

02:26exploring the cosmos.

02:28Lo and behold,

02:29he spotted something amazing.

02:32It was Titan,

02:33the biggest moon of Saturn.

02:36Fast forward almost 300 years to 1944,

02:39when another cool astronomer jumped into the picture.

02:42He was doing some experiments with light

02:44when he figured out

02:46that Titan actually has its very own atmosphere.

02:50There's more to this story.

02:52In 1979,

02:54the Pioneer 11 spacecraft

02:56decided to take a joyride through the Saturn system.

03:00It confirmed all the cool things

03:02scientists had previously speculated about Titan,

03:05like its temperature and mass.

03:07However,

03:08there was one tiny mistake.

03:10Those sneaky scientists thought Titan

03:12might be the biggest moon

03:13in the entire solar system.

03:15Oops,

03:16wrong guess.

03:17Nevertheless,

03:18Titan had this mysterious,

03:20dense atmosphere

03:21that kept everyone on their toes.

03:24Now let's zoom in on the 1980s,

03:27when the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft

03:30make their grand entrance.

03:31These cosmic explorers flew past Saturn,

03:34and they wanted to get a good look

03:36at Titan's surface.

03:37That's when Titan decided to play a game of

03:40hide-and-seek with them.

03:42Its hazy atmosphere

03:43made it impossible to see

03:44what was going on down there.

03:46So,

03:47all the Voyagers managed to capture

03:48were images of a lonely orange world.

03:52However,

03:53they did spot a fancy blue haze

03:55hanging out in the upper atmosphere.

03:58Things started to get really exciting

04:00in the 1990s.

04:02The Hubble Space Telescope

04:03joined the party

04:04and decided to take some cool snapshots

04:06of Titan

04:07using special infrared light.

04:10This clever device

04:10managed to pierce through the haze.

04:13And,

04:13voila!

04:14The Hubble images

04:15revealed differently colored areas

04:17on Titan,

04:18almost like a giant cosmic chessboard.

04:21We now know

04:23that there's even a bright spot

04:24as wide as Australia down there.

04:27However,

04:28despite these fantastic pictures,

04:30the mystery of what lay beneath

04:31Titan's haze

04:32was still unsolved.

04:35It was 2004

04:36when the stage was set

04:38for Cassini

04:39and its European sidekick,

04:41the Huygens Probe.

04:42They were like

04:43the ultimate dynamic duo,

04:45ready to take on Saturn.

04:47Cassini started orbiting

04:48the ringed planet

04:49and immediately focused

04:51its attention on Titan.

04:52The big moment

04:53finally arrived.

04:55On January 14, 2005,

04:57the Huygens Probe

04:59pierced through

05:00Titan's atmosphere.

05:01During its descent,

05:03Huygens collected

05:04all sorts of amazing data,

05:06snapping images

05:07and analyzing the atmosphere.

05:09The probe then transmitted

05:11this valuable information

05:12back to Cassini,

05:13which,

05:14like a cosmic courier,

05:15sent it to us

05:16eagerly waiting Earthlings.

05:18Over the next 13 years,

05:20Cassini flew close to Titan

05:22over 100 times,

05:24using all sorts

05:25of fancy instruments

05:26to get a good look

05:27at the Moon's surface

05:28and atmosphere.

05:29Scientists could finally

05:30confirm that Titan

05:32had clouds,

05:33lakes,

05:34and rivers.

05:35And there was also

05:36some rain pouring down

05:37its surface.

05:40Thankfully for us,

05:42Titan isn't the only moon

05:43in our solar system

05:44that could technically

05:45harbor life.

05:47Take the wondrous moon

05:48of Neptune

05:49called Triton.

05:50For starters,

05:51it's the largest moon

05:52of Neptune,

05:53but it's also

05:54a real oddball.

05:55Among the many moons

05:58out there,

05:58only five are known

06:00to be geologically active.

06:02And guess what?

06:03Triton is proudly part

06:04of this exclusive club.

06:06It loves to show off

06:08its geysers,

06:09which spew nitrogen gas.

06:12Picture Triton

06:13as a fashionista

06:14in an icy ensemble.

06:16Its surface is mainly

06:17frozen nitrogen,

06:19giving it a chill,

06:20frosty vibe.

06:21You might want to bring

06:22a warm coat

06:23if you ever visit.

06:24Now, you may be wondering

06:26how Triton manages

06:27to keep warm

06:28in such a frigid environment.

06:30Well, it's got a secret weapon

06:32called tidal forces.

06:34Imagine Triton and Neptune

06:36engaged in a cosmic dance,

06:38creating gravitational friction.

06:40This dance seems

06:41to generate some heat,

06:43helping to warm up

06:44Triton's waters.

06:45With all this talk

06:47about heat,

06:47you might be getting excited

06:49about the possibility

06:50of life on Triton.

06:51However,

06:53finding life

06:53on this moon

06:54is about as likely

06:55as finding a unicorn

06:56riding a skateboard.

06:58Voyager 2,

06:59the only mission

07:00to ever fly by Triton,

07:02made its journey

07:02back in 1989.

07:04And if you're hoping

07:05for another mission

07:06to Triton anytime soon,

07:07well, let's just say

07:09the stars aren't aligning

07:10in our favor.

07:11Literally.

07:12The window

07:13for a mission

07:14to Triton

07:14opens up

07:15only once

07:16every 13 years,

07:17because our planet

07:18and Jupiter

07:19need to be perfectly

07:20aligned for the landing

07:21to work.

07:23Scientists would use

07:24the gravitational pull

07:25of the largest planet

07:26in our solar system

07:27to safely deliver

07:28a probe on Triton.

07:31Now, let's address

07:32the elephant in the room,

07:33or should I say

07:34the polar bear.

07:36It's so cold on Triton

07:37that hopes for life

07:39to survive unfrozen

07:40are about as slim

07:41as a toothpick.

07:43Sorry,

07:43potential little microbes.

07:45You might need

07:45a few extra sweaters

07:46to set up shop down there.

07:49Even though Triton

07:50may not be

07:50the most welcoming

07:51place for life,

07:53it's still a celestial gem

07:54worth exploring.

07:57Scientists also believe

07:59Triton wasn't always

08:00a part of Neptune's crew.

08:02As it turns out,

08:03Triton was most likely

08:05just minding its business,

08:07hanging around aimlessly

08:08in the distant Kuiper belt.

08:10Along came Neptune

08:12with its mighty

08:12gravitational pull

08:13and snatched

08:14Triton right out.

08:16officially making it

08:17a moon of its own.

08:19Just like

08:20our trusty satellite,

08:22Triton is also stuck

08:23in a permanent face-off

08:24with Neptune.

08:26One side of Triton

08:27always has its eyes

08:28locked on the planet.

08:31As for this amazing moon's fate,

08:34things aren't looking

08:35so good in the long run.

08:37It's already getting

08:38closer and closer

08:39to Neptune every day.

08:41Why is that,

08:41you might wonder?

08:43The problem is

08:44with those tidal interactions,

08:46which are playing

08:46some cosmic tricks

08:47on Triton.

08:48They're causing its orbit

08:50to wither away,

08:51like a slow-motion dance

08:52towards Neptune.

08:55Scientists predict

08:56that in about

08:573.6 billion years,

08:59Triton will cross

09:00an invisible boundary.

09:01If these current

09:02calculations are correct,

09:03there are two

09:04possible scenarios.

09:06It'll either have a collision

09:07with Neptune's atmosphere,

09:09or it might just break up

09:11into tiny pieces.

09:13If the latter happens,

09:14an all-new ring system

09:16would form around Neptune,

09:17just like the one

09:18we see around Saturn nowadays.

09:21Triton is not the only

09:22satellite that might

09:23end up this way.

09:25Phobos,

09:26one of the Martian moons,

09:27is likely to disintegrate too,

09:29and sooner,

09:30in 30 to 50 million years.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended