The European Space Agency (ESA) has released data sent back from their space probe Huygen that landed on Saturn’s moon Titan. The first pictures of the surface of Titan reveal a frozen hilly landscape with channels or riverbeds carved by some liquid. A picture taken from 10 miles above the surface shows a large dark mass that appears to be a lake. Another picture shows large white chunks of boulders or blocks of water ice scattered in the foreground with a grey surface in the background. More data reveals a pale orange landscape with a spongy surface like wet sand or clay. Huygen space probe’s microphone has picked up a low, whooshing sound.

Scientists believe the liquid matter flowing on Titan’s surface could be liquid methane, or even hydrocarbons that settled out of the hazy atmosphere. Titan’s atmosphere is so thick and hazy the surface cannot be seen from space. Titan is the first moon to be explored (after Earth’s moon) because scientists believe its atmosphere is similar to that of early Earth. They believe studying Titan could provide clues to how life began on Earth.

The Huygen space probe was released from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on January 14, 2005 after a seven- year voyage to Saturn. Cassini is studying Saturn, its rings, and moons. Cassini sent a radar image of Titan during a pass on October 26, 2004. It showed a lava dome about 60 miles high and a lava flow about 90 miles long. The lava was ice, not rock material. There were other features indicating material welling up in surface cracks, all indicating volcanic activity. Titan probably has a soft, warmer subsurface but a surface like steel at a temperature of –300 degrees F.

To see pictures from Titan, go to NASA’s website (nasa.gov) and click on the Cassini-Huygens mission. The ESA website can be linked from there too.