Life on Titan? Scientists Are Rethinking Whether Alien Life Could Thrive on Saturn’s Mysterious Icy Moon | Space

Saturn’s icy moon Titan—long considered one of the most promising places to find alien life—may only be capable of supporting a tiny population of simple microbes, according to new international research.

The large moon has a topography that is utterly alien compared to Earth, featuring bodies of liquid methane, soot-like dunes, and boulders of ice. The question of what might be living beneath Titan’s thick atmospheric haze intrigues astrobiologists. Antonin Affholder of the University of Arizona (U of A) and Peter Higgins of Harvard University are leading a study to predict what kind of life may exist on Titan, where it might be found, and how much there could be.

Titan Holds Limited Life Support Capacity 

“In our study, we focus on what makes Titan unique when compared to other icy moons: its plentiful organic content,” said Affholder.

Titan’s massive subsurface ocean, concealed beneath a frozen crust, is estimated to be as deep as 300 miles. After completing their bioenergetic modeling, the research team concluded that the ocean could only sustain a small number of simple microorganisms, amounting to no more than a few pounds of biomass in total.

NASA’s upcoming Dragonfly mission will explore the moon, hoping that Titan’s rich organic chemistry will offer clues to life. However, Affholder suggests that current expectations…more