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.
More Must-Read Stories From TIME
- The Fall of Roe and the Failure of the Feminist Industrial Complex
- What Trump Knew About January 6
- The Ocean Is Climate Change’s First Victim and Last Resort
- Column: 6 Proven Ways to Reduce Gun Violence
- Ads Are Officially Coming to Netflix. Here's What That Means for You
- Jenny Slate on the Unifying Power of a Well-Heeled Shell Named Marcel
- Column: The FDA's Juul Ban May Not be a Pure Public Health Triumph
- What the Supreme Court’s Abortion Decision Means for Your State
Read More From TIME
