– Some of Uranus’ moons like Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon could potentially have subsurface oceans due to radioactive heating and prior geological activity. This raises the possibility of them being able to support life.
– A past study reanalyzed data from Voyager 2 and found evidence that four of Uranus’ largest moons could have internal liquid oceans sandwiched between their icy crusts and cores. Radioactive decay provides heat to maintain liquid state.
– Evidence also exists that moons like Miranda and Ariel underwent geological processes in the past, possibly from tidal heating due to their proximity to Uranus. However tidal heating may be less than for moons of Saturn and Jupiter due to Uranus’ lower mass.
– For any life to exist, the subsurface oceans would need to be warm enough, with appropriate salinity and access to chemical energy sources like on Earth’s ocean floor. Building blocks of life like carbon would also need to be present.
– Scientists are calling for a mission to Uranus’ moons to investigate factors like thermal conditions, salinity, chemical energy availability to better assess their potential habitability and understand formation of these ocean worlds. This could provide insights into the diversity of habitats in our solar system.
Source: Space
