One of NASA’s spacecraft may have flown past a planetary system—a moon rich in life—without realizing it.
A study recently published in the journal Nature Communications suggests that some data from the Voyager 2 spacecraft may need to be re-evaluated, as it possibly overlooked a planet and several moons that harbor life.
This concerns Uranus and its moons.
Normal magnetosphere surrounding the seventh planet of the Solar System (left) and the distorted magnetosphere under solar wind attack – (Photo: JPL-Caltech).
Voyager 2 flew past Uranus in 1986, and the data it sent back to Earth showed that Uranus has a highly unusual and asymmetrical magnetosphere.
This magnetosphere appears to lack plasma—a common component in the magnetospheres of other planets—and features a high-energy electron belt with unusually intense strength.
The characteristics measured from this unique observation have been the basis for many subsequent studies.
However, the reason for this bizarre magnetosphere remains a perplexing question.
A research team from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), University College London (UCL), and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany discovered that the anomaly may be related to the timing of Voyager 2’s flyby.
This spacecraft inadvertently chose to collect data at the moment when Uranus’ magnetosphere was being hit by a powerful solar wind.
This energetic solar wind distorted the planet’s magnetosphere, making it appear strange.
The probability that Voyager 2 flew past the Uranian system at this unusual moment was only 4%, yet it unfortunately fell into that “narrow window.”
Moreover, the solar wind also blew away the types of materials that the planet and its moons could have emitted, including water ions or traces of organic matter that scientists were hoping to find but did not.
Thus, the most significant barrier to a long-anticipated hypothesis has been removed.
Based on other evidence, the authors suggest that Uranus has two critical factors for life that Earth also possesses: geological activity and oceans, but these are subsurface oceans.
Speaking to BBC, co-author William Dunn from UCL stated that not only the parent planet but also some of the moons orbiting Uranus may have the necessary conditions for life.
“They could have oceans beneath the surface filled with lots of fish!” Dr. Dunn said.
According to Sci-News, the research team’s models also suggest a low possibility that the two farthest moons of this planet, Titania and Oberon, are orbiting outside the magnetosphere.
This would allow for easier study of their subsurface oceans without interference from the magnetosphere.
All of this indicates that humanity may need to send another spacecraft to this system. A massive parent planet and 27 moons that could harbor oceans of life would be a treasure trove for exploration.
