>From: "NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory" <info@jpl.nasa.gov>
>Reply-To: <info@jpl.nasa.gov>
>Subject: Organic Materials Spotted High Above Titan's Surface
>Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2005 16:40:25 -0700
>
>MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
>JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
>CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
>NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
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>http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
>
>Carolina Martinez (818) 354-9382
>Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
>
>NEWS RELEASE: 2005-062 April 25, 2005
>
>ORGANIC MATERIALS SPOTTED HIGH ABOVE TITAN'S SURFACE
>
>During its closest flyby of Saturn's moon Titan on April 16, the
>Cassini spacecraft came within 1,027 kilometers (638 miles) of
>the moon's surface and found that the outer layer of the thick,
>hazy atmosphere is brimming with complex hydrocarbons.
>
>Scientists believe that Titan's atmosphere may be a laboratory
>for studying the organic chemistry that preceded life and
>provided the building blocks for life on Earth. The role of the
>upper atmosphere in this organic "factory" of hydrocarbons is
>very intriguing to scientists, especially given the large number
>of different hydrocarbons detected by Cassini during the flyby.
>
>Cassini's ion and neutral mass spectrometer detects charged and
>neutral particles in the atmosphere. It provides scientists with
>valuable information from which to infer the structure, dynamics
>and history of Titan's atmosphere. Complex mixtures of
>hydrocarbons and carbon-nitrogen compounds were seen throughout
>the range of masses measured by the Cassini ion and neutral mass
>spectrometer instrument.
>
>"We are beginning to appreciate the role of the upper atmosphere
>in the complex carbon cycle that occurs on Titan," said Dr.
>Hunter Waite, principal investigator of the Cassini ion and
>neutral mass spectrometer and professor at the University of
>Michigan, Ann Arbor. "Ultimately, this information from the
>Saturn system will help us determine the origins of organic
>matter within the entire solar system."
>
>Hydrocarbons containing as many as seven carbon atoms were
>observed, as well as nitrogen-containing hydrocarbons (nitriles).
>Titan's atmosphere is composed primarily of nitrogen, followed by
>methane, the simplest hydrocarbon. The nitrogen and methane are
>expected to form complex hydrocarbons in a process induced by
>sunlight or energetic particles from Saturn's magnetosphere.
>However, it is surprising to find the plethora of complex
>hydrocarbon molecules in the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
>Titan is very cold, and complex hydrocarbons would be expected to
>condense and rain down to the surface.
>
>"Biology on Earth is the primary source of organic production we
>are familiar with, but the key question is: what is the ultimate
>source of the organics in the solar system?" added Waite.
>
>Interstellar clouds produce abundant quantities of organics,
>which are best viewed as the dust and grains incorporated in
>comets. This material may have been the source of early organic
>compounds on Earth from which life formed. Atmospheres of planets
>and their satellites in the outer solar system, while containing
>methane and molecular nitrogen, are largely devoid of oxygen. In
>this non-oxidizing environment under the action of ultraviolet
>light from the Sun or energetic particle radiation (from Saturn's
>magnetosphere in this case), these atmospheres can also produce
>large quantities of organics, and Titan is the prime example in
>our solar system. This same process is a possible pathway for
>formation of complex hydrocarbons on early Earth.
>
>This was Cassini's sixth flyby of Titan, but its exploration has
>just begun. Thirty-nine more flybys of this strange, remote world
>are planned during Cassini's nominal mission. The next Titan
>flyby is August 22.
>
>The latest images from the Titan flyby are available at:
>http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and http://www.nasa.gov/cassini .
>The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the
>European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a
>division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena,
>manages the Cassini mission for NASA's Science Mission
>Directorate, Washington, D.C.
> -end-
>
>
>