Saturn moon may contain liquid-water ocean, say researchers

Space.com : A liquid-water ocean may lie beneath the icy surface of Saturn’s moon Titan, according to new evidence collected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, writes Mike Wall for Space.com. In orbit around Saturn since 2004, Cassini has provided considerable data, including information about Titan’s rotation and orbit. The new data reinforce earlier suppositions about a possible below-surface ocean. In a new study that will appear in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, lead author Rose-Marie Baland of the Royal Observatory of Belgium in Brussels and colleagues theorize that Titan is not a completely solid body, but rather that it has a solid interior surrounded by a liquid-water ocean and all enclosed in an icy shell. In addition, the possible presence of water leads the researchers to believe that Titan could support some form of life. “Astrobiologists do not really know yet what are the necessary conditions for life to emerge, but it seems that the presence of water is a requirement,” said Baland.