Saturn Archives

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Jupiter, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Early Water Delivery To Terrestrial Planet Regions During The Stages Of Jupiter’s Formation And Migration In The Grand Tack Model

by Keith CowingFebruary 1, 2023November 17, 2023

The formation and subsequent migration of gas giants could significantly affect the material mixing in the Solar System.

Icy Worlds, Mimas, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

SwRI Investigations Reveal More Evidence That Mimas Is A Stealth Ocean World

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2023January 31, 2023

When a Southwest Research Institute scientist discovered surprising evidence that Saturn’s smallest, innermost moon could generate the right amount of heat to support a liquid internal ocean, colleagues began studying […]

Astrogeology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Titan

Detection and Characterization of Wind-blown Charged Sand Grains on Titan with the DraGMet/EFIELD Experiment on Dragonfly

by Keith CowingNovember 4, 2022November 4, 2022

The EFIELD instrument is part of the geophysics and meteorology sensor package DraGMet on the Dragonfly mission, which will explore the surface of Titan in the mid-2030s. EFIELD consists of […]

Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Moonraker: Enceladus Multiple Flyby Mission

by Keith CowingNovember 2, 2022November 2, 2022

Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, possesses an internal water ocean and jets expelling ocean material into space. Cassini investigations indicated that the subsurface ocean could be a habitable environment […]

An illustration of an early concept of Shapeshifter imagines the robots on Saturn's moon Titan. In the picture, the Shapeshifter breaks into smaller pieces that can investigate a methane waterfall from the sky. Shapeshifter is a developing concept for a transformational vehicle to explore treacherous, distant worlds. The flying amphibious robot is part of the early-stage research program NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC), which offers several phases of funding to visionary concepts, helping turn ideas that sound like science fiction into science fact. JPL Principle Investigator Ali Agha envisions Shapeshifter as a mission to Saturn's moon Titan, the only other world in the solar system known to have liquid in the form of methane lakes, rivers and seas on its surface.

Exploration Gear & Tech, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Saturn, Titan

NASA Is Designing Shapeshifting Robots for Saturn’s Moons

by Keith CowingSeptember 25, 2019June 13, 2024

Mini robots that can roll, fly, float and swim, then morph into a single machine? Together they form Shapeshifter, a developing concept for a transformational vehicle to explore treacherous, distant […]

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Building An Alien Ocean To Test Space Submarines

by Keith CowingFebruary 8, 2018January 31, 2024

Building a submarine gets tricky when the temperature drops to -300 Fahrenheit and the ocean is made of methane and ethane.

Top: Stereographic polar projections of Titan's topography with the South Pole left and the North Pole right. Bottom: Same as above, but for a global equicylindrical projection. Regions of data used in the interpolation are overplotted in grey. The maximum global relief is on the scale of ~2km, but typical local variations in elevation are more like ~200m - similar to the size of the hills in Ithaca. The topography shows large scale basins, as well as local highs, such as mountains. Understanding Titan's topography can play a role in understanding internal structure, hydrologic processes, and potential influences in Titan's general circulation.

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Titan

New Titan Topographic Map

by Keith CowingJanuary 17, 2018June 13, 2024

Using the now-complete Cassini data set, Cornell University astronomers have created a new global topographic map of Saturn’s moon Titan that has opened new windows into understanding its liquid flows […]

Enceladus

Cassini Finds Global Ocean in Saturn's Moon Enceladus

by Keith CowingSeptember 15, 2015

A global ocean lies beneath the icy crust of Saturn’s geologically active moon Enceladus, according to new research using data from NASA’s Cassini mission. Researchers found the magnitude of the […]

Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Cassini and Deep Space Network Detect Ocean Inside Enceladus

by Keith CowingApril 3, 2014March 23, 2024

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft and Deep Space Network have uncovered evidence Saturn’s moon Enceladus harbors a large underground ocean of liquid water, furthering scientific interest in the moon as a potential […]

Icy Worlds, Panspermia

Life Could Have Hitched a Ride to Outer Planet Moons

by Keith CowingDecember 9, 2013

Life on Earth or Mars could have been brought to the moons of Jupiter or Saturn on rocks blasted off those planets, researchers say. These findings suggest if scientists ever […]