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turgid [soylentnews.org] writes:

Saturn's largest natural satellite, Titan, is believed to have a sub-surface ocean containing liquid water from data sent by NASA's Cassini mission. However, new analysis indicates that this might be slushy ice rather than liquid water, as an article in Gizmodo explains [gizmodo.com].

The Cassini spacecraft made 124 fly-bys of Titan collecting radar and gravity measurements which scientists interpreted as indicating the existence of a sub-surface ocean of water and ammonia. The Huygens lander, deployed on Titan by Cassini, collected data from radio signals further reinforcing this hypothesis.

Due to the presence of liquid water, Titan became a candidate for the existence of life, and perhaps future probes.

However, the Cassini data were inconclusive. Titan is deformed by tidal forces during its orbit of Saturn, which means that its interior cannot be completely solid. An alternative hypothesis has been proposed which says that under the solid crust there may be an ocean of slushy ice and pockets of liquid water rather that a single, continuous liquid ocean.

Models of Titan predict that the liquid water may get as warm as 20C and convection would circulate minerals from the rocky core up to the crust.

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