The search for life in the solar system
We all know that there is no
planet other than Earth in this universe
where things like valleys, mountains, deserts, hills, rivers, lakes and oceans
exist. But this is largely false information. There is also a physical
satellite in our solar system that is very similar to Earth and has the same
seasonal cycle as Earth. Even, on this physical satellite, you can see landscapes
made of water and volcanoes. According to many scientists, before human
settlement on Mars, we should think about settlement on this physical
satellite. It is the physical satellite of Saturn's moon
Titan.
Recently, scientists have
discovered many strange objects hidden inside the orange thick clouds of Titan,
and because of this, the American space
agency NASA is thinking about a plan to go to Titan in the near future.
There are a total of 150 moons
of different planets in our solar system, but only four of them have an atmosphere,
and one of them is Titan, which is the second largest moon of
our solar system and the largest moon of Saturn.
Titan is still the only celestial body after Earth to have liquid water
on it. Like Earth, it rains on Titan. The only difference is that instead of
water, methane and ethane flow in the form of ice from Titan's clouds.
According to scientists, Titan
is the best physical satellite in our solar system for human population. Titan
is surrounded by a thick layer of mantle that is four times thicker than
Earth's mantle. Titan's atmospheric pressure is 60% greater than Earth's. This
means that you won't need a heavy spacesuit at all if you're walking around on
the surface of Titan. Also, Titan's atmosphere
protects it from harmful radiation from the Sun. It provides better protection
from various types of particles coming from space
and cosmic
radiation. Which creates a completely safe environment for humans. And such a
security measure is impossible on Mars. We can walk on Titan and jump with ease
because Titan's gravity is only 14% compared to Earth's and if we can arrange
wings, then we can fly in the sky like birds.
But among all these good things,
one of the worries is that Titan is very cold and the reason for this is that
Titan is 14 billion kilometers from the sun and we would have to wear a suit to
live on Titan. which can keep our body warm. Because the temperature of the
surface of Titan is about minus 178 degrees Celsius and the sunlight that
reaches it is the same as it falls on the Earth at sunset. Along with this, we
will also need tools to breathe. Titan is in a very strong conjunction with Saturn,
which means that only one part of Titan is always facing Saturn, and the
distance between the two is about 1.2 billion km, and the radius of Titan is
2575 km.
No one knew what Titan's surface
looked like, and in search of it, on January 14, 2005, the European space
Agency's robotic lander Huygens would pass through Titan's orange cloud-filled atmosphere
to land on Titan's surface. And from the pictures that came out of its cameras,
it was known that the place was very deserted. Materials from this mission
revealed that Titan's surface is composed of five layers Its innermost layer is
made of silicate rocks, the top of which is covered with a thin sheet of ice,
which is called Ice Six. After this layer is a
salt layer made of water
and above it is made of water ice. And all of them are covered with an organic
molecule. which fall from Titan's sky in the form of sand and water.
Apart from this, the floating water in Titan's lakes and oceans raises an
important question: is there any possibility of life in it?
In 2005, scientists reported
that some of the most important elements required for life on Earth are found
on Titan. However, Titan's climate is much harsher than Earth's and some life
forms are so extreme that we can never imagine. It was reported from the Cassini spacecraft that there
is a large sea of liquid water
hidden in the lower surface of Titan, which contains salt as well as ammonia,
but what is so special that scientists are so interested in Titan.
In 2016, a team of scientists discovered
a molecule that no one had imagined named (Cyclo Propalendin C3H2). which is
present in the atmosphere
of Titan. This molecule is not normally found on Earth's surface. It is made
only in the laboratory. This molecule was first discovered in dense clouds of
gas and dust in our Milky Way. This molecule may have been important for starting life
on Titan's surface, just as life started on Earth 3.9 billion years ago from a
similar molecule. And C3H2 is the molecule that is most similar to the benzene
molecule on Earth. It is very similar to the molecular structure of the C3H2
molecule with which DNA and RNA skeleton-like parts are created. And these DNA and RNA play an important role in the
beginning of life. According to NASA, the molecule C3H2 shows hope for early
life on Titan, but if life ever did begin on Titan That life in Titan's water
would be very different from life in our Earth's water.
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3. Composition of
Earth's Atmosphere
