Tethys Archives

Sketch of the MT strategy, highlighting the dynamical models used in the distinct phases of the tour. -- math.DS

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Dione, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mimas, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Rhea, Saturn, Tethys, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Low-Energy and Low-Thrust Exploration Tour of Saturnian Moons with Full Lunar Surface Coverage

by Keith CowingMarch 11, 2026March 11, 2026

This study presents the trajectory design for a mission touring Saturn’s Inner Large Moons (Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas) engineered to meet observational requirements, including full surface coverage, while […]

Major icy bodies in the Solar System, with the Earth’s moon to scale. The images are shown at the proper relative size. From NASA’s Planetary Photojournal (https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/), Earth’s Moon (PIA00302), Europa (PIA00502), Ganymede (PIA00716), Callisto (PIA03456), Mimas (PIA06258), Enceladus (PIA06254), Tethys (PIA07738), Dione (PIA08256), Rhea (PIA08256), Titan (PIA08256), Hyperion (PIA07740), Iapetus (PIA08384), Phoebe (PIA06064), Miranda (PIA18185), Ariel (PIA01534), Umbriel (PIA00040), Titania (PIA01979), Oberon (PIA00034), Triton (PIA00317), Pluto (PIA19952). -- astro-ph.EP

Ariel, Astrogeology, Callisto, Ceres, Charon, Dione, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Iapetus, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Mimas, Miranda, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Oberon, Phoebe, Pluto, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Rhea, Status Report, Tethys, Titan, Titania, Triton, Umbriel, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Icy Worlds: Moons And Dwarf Planets

by Keith CowingDecember 1, 2025December 1, 2025

In the outer solar system beyond Jupiter, water ice is a dominant component of planetary bodies, and most solid objects in this region are classified as icy bodies.

An average of the continuum-removed spectra of the leading and trailing hemispheres of Mimas and Tethys and the leading hemispheres of Dione and Rhea, in black, and of the trailing hemispheres of Dione and Rhea, in red. The lines at the bottom show measured wavelengths of CO2 in different states, including in pure crystalline form and trapped as clathrate in crystalline water ice (Oancea et al. 2012), trapped in amorphous ice (Sandford & Allamandola 1990; G´alvez et al. 2008) and physisorbed onto minerals (Hibbitts & Szanyi 2007), which can lead to a wide range of wavelengths. The shorter wavelength 4.2487 µm line associated with the darker hemispheres of Dione and Rhea appears to have no corresponding absorption in the 2.7 µm region. -- astro-ph.EP

Dione, Enceladus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Phoebe, Rhea, Saturn, Status Report, Tethys

A JWST Study Of CO2 On The Satellites Of Saturn

by Keith CowingOctober 6, 2025October 6, 2025

Solid state CO2 has been detected throughout the outer solar system, even at temperatures where crystalline CO2 is unstable, requiring that the CO2 be trapped in a separate host material.

(a) Reconstruction of the onset and spreading of the Proto-Tethys Ocean at ca. 620 Ma after the breakup of the Rodinia Supercontinent; (b) migration of the oceanic plate results in significant changes in the thickness of the lithospheric mantle above the mantle plume and its melting depth, resulting in different magma compositions; (c) continuous plume activity of 620–470 Ma forms the seamount chain. With oceanic plate subduction, the buoyant seamount chain reaches the subduction zone and may accrete to the continent or be subducted with the oceanic crust to the deep mantle -- Science Bulletin

Habitable Zones, Press Release, Tethys, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Long-lived Mantle Plume Tracing The Onset And Spreading Of The Proto-Tethys Ocean

by Keith CowingAugust 1, 2025October 7, 2025

This study is led by Dr. Jinran Qiao (School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University), Prof. Shuguang Song (School of Earth and Space Sciences, Peking University), associate professor Jie […]

Summary of the geodynamic, topographic, climatological, and biogeographical evolution of the system. Regional paleogeography with profiles showing mantle density anomalies from Straume, et al. 68 -- Nature .

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Tethys

How Earth’s Mantle Activity Drove Humans And Animals Into Asia And Africa

by Keith CowingApril 22, 2025October 7, 2025

What roils beneath the Earth’s surface may feel a world away, but the activity can help forge land masses that dictate ocean circulation, climate patterns, and even animal activity and […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Saturn, Status Report, Tethys, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Evolution Of A Young Ocean Within Mimas

by Keith CowingAugust 19, 2024October 7, 2025

The fractured, young surfaces on confirmed ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus suggest that ocean-bearing moons with relatively thin overlying ice shells should be easy to identify. Hence, the […]