NASA scientists have discovered four moons of Uranus, including Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, which could potentially harbor extraterrestrial life in their vast oceans. The NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 conducted several flybys of Uranus in 1986.
In a recent study, experts at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) reexamined data from Voyager 2. They found that all four moons of this planet, namely Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, could have large, deep oceans beneath their icy crusts, according to the Telegraph.
Urаnus аnd іts fіve mаin moonѕ, wіth Tіtanіa on the left – Imаge: SPACE.COM
Importantly, these moons appear to have enough internal heat to prevent the water from freezing, raising hopes for the presence of life on a planet more than 2.7 billion kilometers away from Earth.
To reach this conclusion, NASA researchers built new models combined with data from ground-based telescopes, along with findings from the missions of the Galileo, Cassini, Dawn, and New Horizons spacecraft.
The team used this model to assess the porosity of the moon surfaces of Uranus. As a result, they discovered that they have sufficient insulation to retain heat inside, necessary for containing an ocean.
Additionally, they found what could be a potential heat source within the moons’ icy shell, releasing hot fluids and helping to maintain a warm environment for the ocean.
The team stated that the moons Titania and Oberon have the best chances among all the moons to support life.
The moons’ oceans also appear to be rich in chloride, salt, and ammonia, which help prevent them from freezing.
The research team hopes that this discovery will inspire a mission to Uranus to explore the watery worlds and search for life. It will also shed light on how the moons generate enough heat to sustain liquid water despite being far from the Sun.
The lead author of the study, Julie Castillo-Rogez from JPL, noted that evidence of oceans has previously been found on some smaller celestial bodies, such as dwarf planets and moons.
“So there are mechanisms at play that we don’t fully understand. We are studying what is happening on these moons and within the Solar System,” Julie said.
The new research has been published in the journal The Journal Of Geophysical Research.