• Question: what are your thoughts on the possibility of methane based life forms on the moons orbiting Jupiter/ Saturn? I think its Europa.

    Asked by Rocketmanspencer to Jackie, Michele, Oliver, Yelong on 18 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Jaclyn Bell

      Jaclyn Bell answered on 18 Mar 2015:

      Titan (Saturn’s largest moon) is methane based where the methane acts like our water on Earth. Titan is sometimes referred to as being like a primordial Earth, however it is in a deep freeze with surface temperatures of around -179C. I believe it is possible that microbial life could exist there, where the methane based life forms would breathe hydrogen instead of oxygen 🙂

    • Photo: Michele Faucci Giannelli

      Michele Faucci Giannelli answered on 18 Mar 2015:

      I think you are referring to Titan and at the fact that the ESA probe Huygens found complex element in the atmosphere of the planet and Cassini, from the orbit, discovered that some lakes may be present containing methane instead of water.
      I am not an expert in exobiology so I am not sure if a life form could survive in Titan. If I remember correctly, it is possible for life to exist in methane and Earth add this moment early on in its history of life.
      You can find more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_on_Titan

      Since you mentioned Europa, I think that the Jupiter moon is another good candidate for life in our solar system. The strong tidal forces from Jupiter should be able to keep the base of the oceans in a liquid state. Those would be the same condition in which life evolved on Earth, so I would not be surprised if some form of life exists on that moon.
      You can find more details on Europa here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_%28moon%29#Potential_for_extraterrestrial_life

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