A map has revealed the dynamic landscape of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.
The chart highlights its Martian landscape of mountains, lakes, plains, craters, valleys and ‘labyrinth terrains’.
Astronomers used data from the more than 120 flybys of the Mercury-sized moon by the Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn for over a decade.
The map was developed by a team at Arizona State University’s School of Earth and Space Exploration, in collaboration with NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
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A map has revealed the dynamic landscape of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. The chart highlights its Martian landscape of mountains, lakes, plains, craters, valleys and ‘labyrinth terrains’
Rosaly Lopes, a planetary geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and lead author of new research used to develop the map said: ‘Titan has an active methane-based hydrologic cycle that has shaped a complex geologic landscape, making its surface one of most geologically diverse in the solar system.’
‘Despite the different materials, temperatures and gravity fields between Earth and Titan, many surface features are similar between the two worlds and can be interpreted as being products of the same geologic processes.’
‘The map shows that the different geologic terrains have a clear distribution with latitude, globally, and that some terrains cover far more area than others.’
Lopes and her team used data from Cassini’s radar imagery to infiltrate Titan’s nitrogen and methane saturated atmosphere.
Astronomers used data from the more than 120 flybys of the Mercury-sized moon by the Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn for over a decade
Data from the craft’s visible and infrared instruments were also used to capture images of the moon’s larger features through the thick methane haze.
This study is an example of using combined datasets and instruments,’ Lopes said.
‘Although we did not have global coverage with synthetic aperture radar [SAR], we used data from other instruments and other modes from radar to correlate characteristics of the different terrain units so we could infer what the terrains are even in areas where we don’t have SAR coverage.’
Experts noted that Titan is the only object in the solar system, other than Earth, that has ‘stable liquids’ on the surface.
However, unlike Earth’s rain, methane and ethane fall from clouds in the atmosphere.
Titan is the only planetary body in our solar system other than Earth known to have stable liquid on its surface.
Cassini launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1997, then spent seven years in transit followed by 13 years orbiting Saturn (artist impression)
‘Titan has an active methane-based hydrologic cycle that has shaped a complex geologic landscape, making its surface one of most geologically diverse in the solar system,’ said Lopes.
‘Despite the different materials, temperatures and gravity fields between Earth and Titan, many surface features are similar between the two worlds and can be interpreted as products of the same geologic processes.
The map shows that the different geological terrains have a clear distribution with latitude, globally, and that some terrains cover far more area than others.’
The map, which is a first ever, reveals 65 percent of Titan is covered in plains and dunes make up 17 percent of the surface.
Hilly and mountainous areas, thought to represent exposed portions of Titan’s crust of water ice, represent 14 percent of the surface.
Experts noted that Titan is the only object in the solar system, other than Earth, that has ‘stable liquids’ on the surface. However, unlike Earth’s rain, methane and ethane fall from clouds in the atmosphere (water is highlighted in blue)
The map shows that the different geological terrains have a clear distribution with latitude, globally, and that some terrains cover far more area than others.’ The map, which is a first ever, reveals 65 percent of Titan is covered in plains and dunes make up 17 percent of the surface
JPL scientist and study co-author Michael Malaska said: ‘What is really fun to think about is if there are any ways that those more complex organics can go down and mix with water in the deep icy crust or deep subsurface ocean.’
‘Noting that on Earth there is a bacterium that can survive just on a hydrocarbon called acetylene and water,’ Malaska asked, ‘Could it or something like it live in Titan deep in the crust or ocean where temperatures are a little warmer?’
The map was created seven years before the US space agency is set to launch its Dragonfly mission to dispatch a multi-rotor drone to study Titan’s chemistry and suitability for life. Dragonfly is scheduled to reach Titan in 2034.
‘It is not only scientifically important but also really cool — a drone flying around on Titan,’ Lopes said.
‘It will be really exciting.’
WHAT DID CASSINI DISCOVER DURING ITS 20-YEAR MISSION TO SATURN?
Cassini launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida in 1997, then spent seven years in transit followed by 13 years orbiting Saturn.
An artist’s impression of the Cassini spacecraft studying Saturn
In 2000 it spent six months studying Jupiter before reaching Saturn in 2004.
In that time, it discovered six more moons around Saturn, three-dimensional structures towering above Saturn’s rings, and a giant storm that raged across the planet for nearly a year.
On 13 December 2004 it made its first flyby of Saturn’s moons Titan and Dione.
On 24 December it released the European Space Agency-built Huygens probe on Saturn’s moon Titan to study its atmosphere and surface composition.
There it discovered eerie hydrocarbon lakes made from ethane and methane.
In 2008, Cassini completed its primary mission to explore the Saturn system and began its mission extension (the Cassini Equinox Mission).
In 2010 it began its second mission (Cassini Solstice Mission) which lasted until it exploded in Saturn’s atmosphere.
In December 2011, Cassini obtained the highest resolution images of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.
In December of the following year it tracked the transit of Venus to test the feasibility of observing planets outside our solar system.
In March 2013 Cassini made the last flyby of Saturn’s moon Rhea and measured its internal structure and gravitational pull.
Cassini didn’t just study Saturn – it also captured incredible views of its many moons. In the image above, Saturn’s moon Enceladus can be seen drifting before the rings and the tiny moon Pandora. It was captured on Nov. 1, 2009, with the entire scene is backlit by the Sun
In July of that year Cassini captured a black-lit Saturn to examine the rings in fine detail and also captured an image of Earth.
In April of this year it completed its closest flyby of Titan and started its Grande Finale orbit which finished on September 15.
‘The mission has changed the way we think of where life may have developed beyond our Earth,’ said Andrew Coates, head of the Planetary Science Group at Mullard Space Science Laboratory at University College London.
‘As well as Mars, outer planet moons like Enceladus, Europa and even Titan are now top contenders for life elsewhere,’ he added. ‘We’ve completely rewritten the textbooks about Saturn.’
