Saturn's Moon Titan Offers Insight into Evolution of Life on Earth

The Saturnian moon Titan could offer rare insights into the evolution of Earth, according to a study presented at the 246th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

The study was presented by Jonathan Lunine, a Cornell University researcher and one of roughly 260 scientists involved with the Cassini-Huygens mission studying Titan.

Taking the data from this and other space missions, Lunine explains that scientists are able to put current theories on the origins of life on Earth to the test.

"We think that simple organic chemicals present on the primordial Earth, influenced by sunlight and other sources of energy, underwent reactions that produced more and more complex chemicals," Lunine said in a statement. "At some point, they crossed a threshold -- developing the ability to reproduce themselves. Could we test this theory in the lab? These processes have been underway on Titan for billions of years. We don't have a billion years in the lab. We don't even have a thousand years."

There are only two celestial objects in the solar system whose surfaces contain the amount of organic substances to provide such information: Titan and Earth. And while Earth's organic substances have been cycled through living thing after living thing for untold generations, Titan's remain apparently untouched by any form of life.

For years, Mars has served as something of a darling for both scientists and the public in the search for intriguing organic chemistry and life outside Earth. However, up to this point researchers have detected only simple organic materials on the Red Planet.

Meanwhile, recent observations provide tantalizing evidence of liquid water deep under Titan's surface, while other data suggest that area's of Titan's seafloor may resemble the portions of the Earth's seafloors where hydrothermal vents are located.

Some scientists have even gone ahead and identified a number of prime landing spots on the moon. The catch? Titan is located nearly a billion miles from the Sun with temperatures of minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning it could be years before researchers have the technology needed to explore the moon's surface.