NASA Wants to Send a Space Submarine to One of Saturn's Moons

February 15, 2015 4:19 PM EST

NASA has already sent rovers to Mars. Now it wants to send a space submarine to Saturn’s largest moon.

The federal space agency hopes to land a submarine to explore Kraken Mare, a methane sea on Saturn’s moon Titan, by 2040, according to a conference presentation. Titan is one of the only bodies in our solar system besides Earth with seas on its surface, though the Kraken Mare is freezing and made of liquified hydrocarbons.

Scientists plan to fly the Titan submarine in a space plane similar to the Boeing X-37. The plane will then drop the submarine into Kraken Mare where it can explore the sea floor’s composition, the tides, the weather and any life forms that may exist there.

See the Most Beautiful Space Photos of 2014

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array's first picture of the sun taken in high-energy X-rays released on Dec. 22, 2014. JPL-Caltech/GSFC/NASA

An infrared image of a small portion of the Monkey Head Nebula (also known as NGC 2174 and Sharpless Sh2-252) captured by the Hubble telescope, released on March 17, 2014. The nebula is a star-forming region that hosts dusky dust clouds silhouetted against glowing gas.NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) — An infrared image of a small portion of the Monkey Head Nebula captured by the Hubble telescope released on March 17, 2014. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team

A spiral galaxy, also known as M106, about 23 million light years from Earth. — NGC 4258 is a spiral galaxy well known to astronomers for having two so-called anomalous arms that glow in X-ray, optical and radio light. Chandra X-ray Observatory/CXC/Caltech/NASA

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/15050207206/Eta Carinae: Our Neighboring Superstars (NASA, Chandra, 08/26/14)Eta Carinae is one of the most luminous known star systems in our galaxy. It radiates energy at a rate that is 5 million times that of the Sun. Most of this energy is radiated at infrared wavelengths. It is shrouded in a rapidly expanding cloud of dust which absorbs radiation from the central star and re-radiates it in the infrared. — Eta Carinae is one of the most luminous known star systems in our galaxy seen here in this photo released on Aug. 26, 2014.JPL-Caltech/NASA

A reprocessed picture shows off the amazing colors of Europa, a mysterious ice-covered moon of Jupiter, as they have never been seen before released on Nov. 21, 2014.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute

Reid Wiseman ‏@astro_reid Jun 1A simple toy from my childhood makes for a cool picture in space. pic.twitter.com/yddfNTwiow — Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo on June 1, 2014 from the International Space Station "A simple toy from my childhood makes for a cool picture in space."Reid Wiseman—NASA

Infrared Image of Saturn's Rings — This image of Saturn's rings was taken by a camera on the Cassini spacecraft released on Jan. 21, 2014. JPL-Caltech/NASA/EPA

ESA's Optical Ground Station in Tenerife — A long exposure of the European Space Agency's Optical Ground Station at the La Teide Observatory on the Canary Islands, Spain released on April 27, 2014.EPA

An aurora near Australia seen from the International SPace Station, released on July 15, 2014. — An aurora near Australia seen from the International Space Station released on July 15, 2014.NASA

NASA: LL Ori and the Orion Nebula — This close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis interacting with the Orion Nebula flow. NASA/Sipa

The Eagle Nebula, also known as as Messier 16 or M16, and the 'Pillars of Creation' in the constellation Serpens in May 2014. — The Eagle Nebula also known as as Messier 16 or M16, and the 'Pillars of Creation' in the constellation Serpens in May 2014.Adam Block—Mount Lemmon Skycenter

Russell Crater dunes on Mars released on Feb. 5, 2014. — The Russell Crater dunes seen on Mars in this photo released on Feb. 5, 2014.JPL/University of Arizona/NASA

NASA image of Saturn taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera — Saturn taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Nov. 23, 2013 and released for the first time on Feb. 3, 2014. NASA/JPL/Caltech/Reuters

This vista of the Endeavour Crater rim taken by Opportunity Rover combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam) on the 3,637th Martian day, or sol, of the mission on April 18, 2014 and was released on May 19, 2014. — This vista of the Endeavour Crater rim taken by Opportunity Rover combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera on April 18, 2014 and was released on May 19, 2014.JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/NASA

Alexander Gerst ‏@Astro_Alex Jul 6 View translationHarsh land. Windswept valleys in northern #Africa / Hartes Land. Windgefraeste Taeler in Nordafrika pic.twitter.com/sFcbhRIF2Z — Astronaut Alexander Gerst ‏tweeted this photo on July 6, 2014 from the International Space Station "Harsh land. Windswept valleys in northern #Africa / Hartes Land"Alexander Gerst—NASA

The moon over northeast Greenland in March 2014.Michael Studinger—NASA

NASA picture of a crescent moon rising over the cusp of the Earth's atmosphere — A crescent moon rises over the cusp of the Earth's atmosphere in this picture by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata onboard the International Space Station on Feb. 1, 2014.NASA/Reuters

An optical image, from the Digitized Sky Survey of the Flame Nebula released on May 7, 2014. DDS/NASA

New Hubble infrared view of the Tarantula Nebula released on Jan. 9, 2014. NASA, ESA, E. Sabbi (STScI)—NASA, ESA, E. Sabbi (STScI)

The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 7:28 p.m. EST on Dec. 19, 2014. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This flare is classified as an X1.8-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. — The sun emits a significant solar flare on Dec. 19, 2014 as seen from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, SDO/NASA

Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted on July 3, 2014 "Hurricane #Arthur has grown an eye since we last met." — Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on July 3, 2014 "Hurricane #Arthur has grown an eye since we last met." Reid Wiseman—NASA

The Elephant's Trunk Nebula, also known as IC 1396, on April 14, 2014. — The Elephant's Trunk Nebula, also known as IC 1396 on April 14, 2014.Eric Coles

As an island in the moist, atmospherically turbulent North Atlantic, Iceland is often shrouded in cloud cover and hard to observe from space. And lately, the island is making some of its own cloud cover, as the Earth has split open between the Bardarbunga and Askja volcanoes and spewed lava and hot gas. The view of the Holuhraun lava field has been spectacular from the ground and from low-flying aircraft. Infrared imaging makes the view spectacular from space, too.On September 6, 2014, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this view of the ongoing eruption. The false-color images combine shortwave infrared, near infrared, and green light (OLI bands 6-5-3). Ice and the plume of steam and sulfur dioxide appear cyan and bright blue, while liquid water is navy blue. Bare or rocky ground around the Holuhraun lava field appears in shades of green or brown in this band combination. Fresh lava is bright orange and red. (Download this large image to see the same area in natural color.)“Thermal imagery can be used to determine the extent of the lava flows and the heat loss,” noted Ashley Davies, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist and leader of NASA’s Volcano Sensor Web team. Infrared imagery can help scientists estimate the effusion rate—the rate at which lava is pouring out of the Earth—as well as the sulfur dioxide content of the plume. “And high resolution imagery of this kind allows us to model the dynamics of the emplacement process. In this case, individual vents can be seen feeding separate lava flows that combine into a main channel feeding an expanding lava flow field.”By some accounts, Holuhraun has spewed more lava this month than any Icelandic volcano since the 19th century. As of September 9, 2014, the new lava flow was 16 kilometers (10 miles) long and covered about 20 square kilometers (8 square miles), according to the University of Iceland.The plume from Holuhraun is rich with sulfur dioxide (SO2), a rotten-smelling gas — The Holuhraun lava field as seen with infrared imaging captured by the Operational Land Imager on Sept. 6, 2014, NASA

INDIA-SPACE-SCIENCE-MARS — Mars is seen in an image taken by the ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft released on Sept. 30, 2014.ISRO/AFP/Getty Images

APTOPIX Kazakhstan Russia Space Station — The Russian Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-13M space ship carrying the Expedition 40 crew to the International Space Station launches from the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014.Dmitry Lovetsky—AP

Using the CIVA camera on Rosetta’s Philae lander the spacecraft snapped a ‘selfie’ with a comet passing by in the background in this photo released on Oct. 14, 2014. — Using the CIVA camera on Rosetta’s Philae lander the spacecraft snapped a ‘selfie’ with a passing comet in this photo released on Oct. 14, 2014.Rosetta/Philae/CIVA/ESA

Saturn, which appears as a thin crescent, broken only by the shadows of its rings, was captured by the Cassini spacecraft cameras in this image released on March 17, 2014. This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 42 degrees below the ringplane. — Saturn was captured by the Cassini spacecraft cameras in this image released on March 17, 2014. JPL-Caltech/NASA

Handout of the evolving universe is shown in this composite of separate exposures taken in 2003 to 2012 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 — A composite of separate exposures taken in 2003 to 2012 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 of the evolving universe is shown in this image released on June 3, 2014.NASA/Reuters

NASA Wants to Send a Space Submarine to One of Saturn’s Moons

See the Most Beautiful Space Photos of 2014

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