For many years now, scientists have explored the possibility of man living elsewhere other than the Earth. One constant option has been Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Fortunately, NASA's Cassini and Huygen missions have proven successful and have provided much needed data on Titan.
According to Nature World News, Titan was always a consideration because its surface has many similarities to Earth. It has terrains, rivers and seas of liquid methane. Recently, it was discovered that Hydrogen Cyanide is also present on the moon. The atmosphere of Titan, however, is filled with nitrogen and methane that form a yellow haze. In addition, there is also a presence of hydrogen cyanide, seen from the sunlight hitting the atmosphere. Luckily, hydrogen cyanide is what considered a prebiotic chemical key.
The discovery of prebotic chemistry has led scientists to believe that there may be alien life on Titan. Particularly, a "cold-adapted" non-water based life form.
Science World Report explains exactly how hydrogen cyanide can serve as further proof for life surrounding Titan. According to the publication, the chemical is capable to stimulate reactions that could result in absorbing the suns energy. This solves the problem of Titan's cold atmosphere, brought on by its thick clouds.
Hydrogen cyanide can be formed in long chains, called polyimine. According to Martin Rahm, polyimine could "accomplish remarkable things at low temperatures, especially under Titan's conditions." Rahm is a postdoctoral researcher in chemistry and has a study on the same published in "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
However, Rahm also stated that the conditions and findings need to be further studied in able to understand how Titan's makeup will evolve, as well as how chemistry can play a role in this. He says, "If future observations could show there is prebiotic chemistry in a place like Titan, it would be a major breakthrough."
