Saturn: Planet’s moon Mimas may be hiding an impossible ocean

Mimas doesn’t show any hints of liquid water, and it seems impossible that it could have an ocean under its surface, but that’s exactly what a new set of simulations suggest



Space



11 January 2022

Mimas

Mimas, a moon of Saturn, imaged by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft

NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute

Saturn’s moon Mimas may have an unexpected ocean. This small satellite doesn’t look like any of the other ocean worlds that we have seen before, but measurements from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft hinted that it might have water underneath its icy surface, and calculations of its internal heat have now confirmed that this is possible.

Unlike most of the other moons that planetary scientists believe to carry oceans, Mimas shows no fracturing or evidence of melting on its surface. …