Anushka Sen and Taneestha Sur

Year: 2018-19

Anushka Sen and Taneestha Sur

School: Dolna Day School

Grade: 6

City: Kolkata

Teacher: Madhura Bhattacharya


Saturn's largest moon Titan is the second largest moon of the solar system (after Ganymede, the largest moon not only of Jupiter but also of the whole solar system). It's a very mysterious moon. An orange haze is surrounding it which had kept it's surface very mysterious for our scientists till the Cassini mission in 2004 was successful. It has many large water bodies which is made up of ethane and methane, though most of its geographical features are fully similar to our Earth. The Cassini spacecraft launched by ESA (European Space Agency) was successful to land on Titan and fetch information about it. But still we want NASA to plan another mission to Titan and reveal its hidden mysteries. Unlike the other targets, Titan's unsolved mysteries can lead to life on the banks of methane and ethane lakes of Titan.

Saturn's largest moon Titan is very mysterious and exceptional. Titan's atmosphere is very lively and complex and. 95% of its main composition is of nitrogen and 5% is of ethane and methane. It also contains organic molecules such as carbon, hydrogen and also includes some other elements similar to what is found in Earth's atmosphere and are essential for life, such as oxygen. An unsolved mystery is surrounding Titan's atmosphere, as methane is broken by sunlight on its surface. Though scientists believe that there can be another source, which re-fills whatever is lost in Titan. Still, one potential source of methane is volcanic action, but is not yet confirmed. NASA once said that Cassini and Huygens showed that Saturn's largest moon Titan is one of the most Earth like world which they have ever discovered, with similar weather, climate and geographical features that is much similar like Earth and provides new ways to understand our home planet.

We want to explain NASA that when Titan comes near Saturn its ethane and methane seas and lakes gives out water jets through its ice crusts, causing minor cracks in the ice crusts. If this keeps continuing, then the ice crusts will form major cracks and lead to breaking of the ice. Based on the descriptions of Titan given above life can be started on its ethane and methane banks as it has atmospheric and geographic features similar to our Earth."

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