The Moons of Life

Most people are aware of Mars's possibility of supporting life, but what most people do not know is that there are two other planetary bodies in our solar system that could also support life. These two planetary bodies, however, are not quiet planets, they are moons. The first, and most likely to support life, is Europa, one of Jupiter's 4 moons. What makes Europa so special that it is completely covered in a layer of water ice. This ice makes the surface of Europa uniquely smooth, and bright from the light that is reflected from it. Europa's surface consists of large, continent sized ice plates with cracks in between them. The cracks indicate that the plates move which also indicates that there is water underneath that has tidal properties. Europa's ice is thought to be just a thin crust that could just be 3 miles deep or less. While underneath could be up to 30 miles of liquid water. The fact that there is water underneath could indicate that the water is warmer at greater depths. This heat is mostly likely caused by tidal movements caused by gravitational interactions with Jupiter. With the presence of liquid water and some heat from gravity, there is a possibility that a form a life exists, like how life still exists at the bottoms of Earth's oceans.

The second is Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Titan has an atmosphere denser than Earth's and is many composed of nitrogen, like Earth's, and is very cold. The amazing thing about Titan is its climate and atmosphere which allows for a stable liquid to exist on the surface, liquid methane and ethane. This means that Titan has a methane/ethane cycle that is very similar to Earth's water cycle that is so vital for the life that exists on Earth. This liquid cycle has caused Titan's surface to have many features that are similar to Earth's. In addition, Titan has a rich mixture of organic compounds that are essential for life to exist. Titan is suspected to support some time of micro-organism or, at the very least, has the chemistry needed to support life in a surface ocean. The only problem with Titan is that its cold temperatures could be preventing life to form.