NASA researchers discuss the best way to delve into the depths of Saturn's moon Titan in a new clip from the Science channel show "Space's Deepest Secrets."
The exclusive clip comes from the show's fourth episode, which airs Tuesday (May 17) at 10 p.m. EDT (9 p.m. CDT) on Science Channel. The episode explores liquids in the solar system and the ways researchers can learn about it — understanding the warm, wet environment of early Mars, probing the moonwide, ice-encrusted sea on Jupiter's moon Europa and more.
In the clip, exclusively released to Space.com today (May 16), researchers talk about designing a submarine to explore Titan: a moon of Saturn covered in seas of liquid methane and ethane. Without looking under those seas, the researchers said, how can we truly understand that moon?
"That first picture from anybody's submarine on the surface of a sea on another planet in our solar system changes the world," Michael Paul, director of Space Systems at Penn State University, said in the clip. "That's something that none of us have ever seen before — that's true discovery. That is why we do any of this. And that would be awesome. That first picture alone would make this entire mission worth it."
The researchers consider what they could find in those alien depths, searching for information and hoping for life — but not as we know it.
Editor's Note: This article has been corrected to reflect that the seas on Titan consist of liquid methane and ethane.
Email Sarah Lewin at slewin@space.com or follow her @SarahExplains. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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