A daring proposal to try to put a "boat" down on a sea of Saturn's moon Titan is about to be submitted to Nasa.
The scientific team behind the idea is targeting Ligeia Mare, a vast body of liquid methane sited in the high north of Saturn's largest moon.
The concept will be suggested to the US space agency for one of its future mission opportunities that will test a novel power system.
It would be the first exploration of a planetary sea beyond Earth... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8409052.stm
Just what exactly is a Liquid Methane ocean like compared with our H2O is it enough like water that the boat will float and that beings can live in it.
The temperature on Titan is 93.7K (-179.5C) and the atmospheric pressure is 146.7 kPa. The density of liquid methane is 423 kg/m3 and it boils at -162C.
The density of water is 1,000 kg/m3 and the air pressure on Earth is 101.3 kPa. So the boat would sink into the water more because methane is less dense.
Titan's atmosphere is 98.4% nitrogen and 1.6% methane, we would find it cold and there is no oxygen.
The temperature on Titan is 93.7K (-179.5C) and the atmospheric pressure is 146.7 kPa. The density of liquid methane is 423 kg/m3 and it boils at -162C.
The density of water is 1,000 kg/m3 and the air pressure on Earth is 101.3 kPa. So the boat would sink into the water more because methane is less dense.
Titan's atmosphere is 98.4% nitrogen and 1.6% methane, it would not support life.
Not life as we know it, isn't there the possibility of life based on different chemicals than what we know of as where our life came from.
Yes I should have said human life like us.
The life near deep undersea volcanoes is amazing.
Maybe something can survive the cold and methane on Titan.