Titanium doesn't look like a habitable place. The average temperature on this orange moon of Saturn is -290 degrees Fahrenheit, which is roughly -179 degrees Celsius.
Despite the fact that Titan is one of the few places in our solar system where the surface is covered with liquid, the lakes, rivers and seas on this moon are composed mainly of liquid methane and ethane, which is too toxic for even the most picky terrestrial life forms. Water at this temperature will be instantly frozen.
But what if there are other forms of life? What if they don't need water to survive?
Another form of life
According to recent research from Cornell University, there is a chance that life could still exist on Titan.
The logic is as follows: the sun's rays, breaking through the toxic yellowish atmosphere of Titan, lead to the formation of hydrogen cyanide (hydrocyanic acid HCN) - a molecule that scientists believe was necessary in a series of chemical reactions that preceded the emergence of life on our planet.
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Hydrocyanic acid HCN readily polymerizes, i.e. forms polymers, including polyethyleneimine, the molecules of which, in turn, are capable of absorbing light in a different spectrum - "the spectrum of absorbed light is so wide that it can absorb even those rays that pass through the dense and turbid atmosphere of Titan," thereby creating conditions for the existence of life, writes Science Alert.
A research team at Cornell University examined the data collected by the Cassini-Huygens AMC. They were able to determine what compounds can be formed from HCN on Titan, and, in addition, to determine their properties.
The data obtained during the calculations suggest that prebiotic evolution on Titan is possible, and the compounds that can be obtained in its course are capable of functioning with the absorption of sunlight.
“If life could exist there, it would have to function very differently than our earthly one, which would give us a clue as to what limits life in the universe has,” says Martin Ram, lead author of the study.
Hunt for extraterrestrial life
With this new study, scientists have even more reasons to look at Titan as a candidate for extraterrestrial life.
"Scientists believe that there is still water under the frozen surface of titanium - an entire underground ocean - and there are many hypotheses according to which life may exist in these underground oceans, scattered throughout the solar system," writes Science Alert.
Despite the fact that the study does not suggest the existence of life on the surface of Titan, it still says that the moon of Saturn has the conditions necessary for chemical evolution, which, in turn, is necessary for the development of life.
A team of researchers at Cornell University also hopes to continue work in this direction, conducting experiments with modeling the chemical composition of the moon.
“If we can still find traces of chemical evolution on Titan, it will be a big breakthrough,” Ram said in a press release. "And while this study only indicates that prerequisites for the existence of other life forms can be found on Titan, it is worth noting that this is only the first step."