Saturn’s moon Dione is one of the targets of NASA’s “special care” Cassini probe because it possesses the essential element for life.
The final images returned to Earth by the Cassini spacecraft and recently released by NASA show close-up views of Dione – a moon rarely seen in images of Saturn.
The reason for this is that he looks quite pale compared to the two brothers – the Titan moon and the Enceladus moon, two “promising lands” of alien life due to possession of the ocean below the icy surface. Recently, organic molecules have also been discovered on the moon Enceladus, giving rise to hope for a form of life – at least evidence of ancient life on this star.
However, according to Space, many scientists believe Dione is a weaker version of Enceladus. Preliminary data reported by Cassini, including close-up surface images and a stream of small particles captured by the spacecraft, suggests that Dione also has signs of an ocean beneath the permafrost.
According to a study conducted by the Royal Astronomical Society of Belgium, gravity data collected by Cassini shows that there is an ocean up to 100 km deep under the glacial surface of this moon! This ocean surrounds a large, dense rocky core. The rocky core is the reason why this moon is so massive for its rather small size.
The Cassini spacecraft also discovered that this moon has oxygen in its atmosphere. However, the density of oxygen is very low compared to the earth, there is only one oxygen ion in every 11 cubic centimeters of air.
Dione is also eerily similar to Earth’s Moon, with a distance of 377,400 km from Saturn, roughly the distance between the Moon and Earth. This moon, like ours, is “locked” by the host planet, always facing Saturn through a single surface.
This icy moon is reflected in off-white in the actual image of Cassini, as it should, as its surface temperature is extremely low: minus 186 degrees Celsius. It is the fourth largest moon of Saturn’s 53 satellites and the 15th largest in the solar system, with an average radius of 349 miles.
Yet it is one of the most unlucky moons in the solar system, as it is repeatedly damaged by the famous “ring” of Saturn, the belt of objects around the planet, by countless large meteors from small size.
This is why this moon is full of craters, some of which are up to 100 km wide and others up to 35 km deep.
