Cassini Finds Hydrocarbons on Saturn's Moon Hyperion

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This map shows the composition of a portion of Hyperions surface. Blue shows the maximum exposure of frozen water red denotes carbon dioxide ice (dry ice) magenta indicates regions of water plus carbon dioxide yellow is a mix of carbon dioxide and an ...
This map shows the composition of a portion of Hyperion's surface. Blue shows the maximum exposure of frozen water, red denotes carbon dioxide ice ("dry ice"), magenta indicates regions of water plus carbon dioxide, yellow is a mix of carbon dioxide and an unidentified material. Image credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Ames/Space Science Institute

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has revealed for the first time surface details of Saturn's moon Hyperion, including cup-like craters filled with hydrocarbons that may indicate more widespread presence in our solar system of basic chemicals necessary for life.


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