Are Lakes on Saturn's Moon Titan Teeming with Primitive Cells?
Could exotic lifeforms be brewing on Titan? Saturn’s largest moon is covered with the carbon-based building blocks of life and is the only place that we know of besides Earth with large lakes on its surface—made from super-chilled methane instead of water.
In 2017, NASA discovered that Titan’s thick, hazy atmosphere contains acrylonitrile, a lipid-like molecule that could cluster together within the moon’s lakes to form vesicles. These hollow spheres strongly resemble cell membranes on Earth, but a follow-up study determined that vesicles would be unlikely to form on Titan without an additional source of energy, casting doubt on their emergence. Now, a recent study coauthored by NASA shows that the missing spark could come from rainfall.
Learn more: https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/planetary-science/astrobiology/path-toward-protocells-on-titan/
Dan Gallagher: Producer/Writer
Christian Mayer: Scientist
Conor Nixon: Scientist
Katy Mersmann: Host/Writer
Kim Dongjae: Lead Animator
Jenny McElligott: Animator
Wes Buchanan: Animator
Jonathan North: Animator
Dan Gallagher: Animator
Michael Lentz: Art Director
Walt Feimer: Project Coordinator
Caela Barry: Support
Lonnie Shekhtman: Support
Aaron E. Lepsch: Technical Support
Duration: 2 minutes, 30 seconds
Release Date: Jan. 14, 2026
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