Stefan Alexandru
School: Middle School No.97
City: Bucharest
Topic: Titania
"I think that Titania, Uranus's largest satellite, should be a priority for NASA for a variety of reasons:
Due to its density, researchers claim that Titania is made up of aproximately equal parts of frozen water and other high-density components, such as rock. Unlike Ariel and Oberon, Titania is mainly composed of CO2, which was observed by infrared spectroscopic technology between the years 2001-2005. The presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can be caused by organic materials on Titania under the influence of ultraviolet solar radiation or electrically charged particles in the magnetosphere of Uranus. This theory is supported by the fact that Titania's rear hemisphere is more exposed to Uranus’s radiation than the frontal hemisphere, respectively the CO2 levels in the two parts of the satellite differ. However, carbon dioxide could still come from under the ice layer, which is related to the geological activity of the satellite's past. This could indicate that there was life on Titania.
Scientists also believe that beneath the ice surface, the existence of a liquid ocean is possible, consisting of a homogeneous substance of water and a solvate such as ammonia, which prevents freezing. This ocean would have a thickness of 50 km and a temperature of 190 K (-83.15 ° C). Despite the fact that the preservation of life in these conditions is unlikely, the part of the ocean closer to the rock core of the satellite could benefit from a higher temperature, the living environment becoming similar to that of psychrophiles on Earth.
With the help of thermographic cameras, a robot could examine the craters on the surface of Titania, therefore determining the source of the CO2. Consequently, in the future, several missions could be organized to determine the existence of a liquid ocean and of different life forms."
