Life on Titan?

[sp1214]

Scientists believe that because of the atmosphere on Titan life could exist there. Do you think otherwise?

[tiggerblue10]

Who can say. Can NASA send a probe there like they did to Mars?

Isn't Titan a moon?

[heathfield]

Not sure about there being life, so I'll wait and see.

[sp1214]

They say Titan is like the early Earth. Yes Titan is a moon of Saturn. Some interesting facts on this:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/life/lookin g/titan.shtml

[dundurn]

Titan would seem to have a lot tof the raw materials that we thing led to life on Earth but it has the disadvantage of being a long way from the Sun. As a result a lot of the biological processes we take for granted can't take place there and neither is there any liquid water.

[wildwood]

The average temperature on Titan is -180�c. Any water that may be available will be frozen solid.
For life to exist, there needs to also be a source of nourishment to sustain that life.
Even primitive life needs proteins to build DNA.
I very much think otherwise and don't believe that life as we define it exists on any other planet.

[WaldoMcFroog]

Hang on... what Nasa have said is that Titan has the inorganic chemicals we believe are capable of undergoing the necessary reactions to begin abiogensis, but this will not take place for billions of years time, when the sun expands sufficiently - destroying Earth - as currently it is far too cold.

It's speculation, and we won't be around to see it either way.

[newtron]

As far as I know, it is believed that there is liquid water several kilometers below the surface, which is where life would most likely be. A couple of years ago I saw a presentation from a PhD student from Oxford, who was studying the morphology of craters on Titan. The results of the study, which was observations coupled with mathematical modeling, did suggest that there was liquid water present below the surface. The general consensus these days is that if there is liquid water, there will be life.

It has also become apparent that life can exist in very extreme environments. At the university where I work, Dr. Penny Boston studies extremofiles here on earth. Knowing more about the type of environments where these organisms live will help scientist to know where to look for extraterrestrial life.

[Clanad]

Nice to see you back, newtron! Still winter in NM? (Apologies, sp1214, but newtron's been missing in action for several months...

[newtron]

Oops! I just checked and the study I mentioned was on crater morphology on Europa, not Titan. It's been a while. Sorry about that.

[newtron]

Hi Clanad, It's starting to warm up and the spring winds seem to be here. I still check AB on a regular basis, but I don't participate very often. I'm too busy. How are things in AZ?

[sp1214]

If life did not exist on these planets but was capable of sustaining it have we ever thought about sending a rocket to these distant outposts and depositing a whole load of microbes and friendly bacterium to start the process going?

[rojash]

I can't believe that no-one hear has read Kurt Vonnegut...

[Conk]

If they are looking merely at the atmosphere, what kind of atmosphere are they looking for? one like ours would not be very supportive of the deep submersive life one would expect under layers of ice, with i would assume, core heat, and magma to do the job of supporting life in the heat category, and to supply food.

Chemosynthesis on the other hand, on a planet with an atmosphere like venus' would be quite possible, high levels of sulphur to support a producing bacteria, one only needs to look at the mid ocean rifts and the life that survives down there, it is even possible that life started in the deep oceans, but evolution points the other way, towards the surface.