Year: 2020-21

Lucia Mochel

Grade: 10

School: Whangamata Area School

City: Whangamata

Topic: Titania

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"Through the evolution of space science, humans have been intrigued by the possibility of extraterrestrial life past or present. With this continuous interest driving aerospace projects, NASA should direct the robotic spacecraft exploration to Titania.

Scientists are currently investigating the theory of potential oceans positioned beneath the surface of Uranus’s largest moons including Ariel, Titania, and Oberon. These moons have displayed evidence of cryovolcanism - a volcanic phenomenon whereby it erupts volatiles such as liquid water, methane, ammonia, or sulfur dioxide - further supporting the subsurface ocean hypothesis.

There are several limiting factors of Uranus’s moons’ that greatly affect the probability of sustaining life. Oberon has an extremely weak magnetic presence with only three nanoteslas; therefore identifying any further information about the moon’s hypogean properties would be difficult. Additionally, there are drastic temperature fluctuations that could result in an inaccurate analysis of the planetoids. For example, Ariel’s temperature alters dramatically depending on the location of the sunrays. Due to Ariel’s unique positioning, the satellite is one of the coldest moons in the entire Solar System with an average surface temperature of negative 213 degrees Celsius.

Titania is a geographically active planetoid composed of carbonaceous material and organic compounds, resulting in little temperature variation. Scientists have already discovered that the moon Titania is comprised of an equal ratio of ice and rock, suggesting a presence of water - a necessity for life. The planetoid also has a variety of other topography, meteorology, and temperature-related factors that should be further analyzed. As evidenced, Titania has the most characteristics that not only support the subsurface oceans theory but also exemplify a variety of other life-sustaining qualities. Clearly, this moon is one of the greatest wonders in our solar system that needs to be appropriately analyzed and further examined for the benefit of astronomical science."