By 2036, it is likely to have information whether Saturn's moon – Titan, conditions exist to potentially support extraterrestrial life, according to a Bulgarian scientist, BTA reported.
This will become possible after the launch of a car-sized nuclear-powered drone to Titan takes place. The Dragonfly drone is a design and development of the Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, with NASA's prior design approval. Its launch will be the second phase of NASA's first mission to explore Titan using the Cassini probe.
The forecast made ch. Assistant Professor Petar Eftimov, Ph.D., from the Department of Biochemistry of the Faculty of Biology at Sofia University, during his presentation on the topic “Alternative Biospheres– beyond the water worlds“, part of the lecture “The world of physics– live“. Organizers of the event at the American Center of the Metropolitan Library are the magazine "The World of Physics"; – printed organ of the Union of Physicists in Bulgaria, and the Department of "Physics" at the Mining and Geological University of Moscow State University) “St. Ivan Rilski.
In his lecture, Dr. Eftimov traced the possible solvents with properties similar to water, such as hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen fluoride, methane, etc.
Titan is the second most massive moon in our solar system. NASA chooses a mission to Titan because the moon stands out as the only moon in the Solar System with a thick atmosphere. Besides Earth, it is the only celestial planet known to have “standing bodies” of liquid, such as methane lakes and ammonium oceans, which also give it that unique purple hue, the scientist said. Titan has a cycle similar to Earth's, where liquids rain down from clouds, and its surface is rich in organic molecules.
In his lecture, Dr. Eftimov also drew attention to the role of hydrocarbons in the creation of an emergency blood substitute in military field conditions.
Life is incredibly diverse, resilient and adaptable, and we can fully describe it, looking not only at our planet, but the entire Solar System, is the conclusion of Dr. Eftimov's lecture.