Titan May Improve Origin Of Life Equation

NASA's Huygens probe will enter the atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan, to perform experiments that may help Origin Of Life ("OOL") investigators. OOL science provides attractive though so-far incomplete questions about and answers to the building blocks of cell life.

Winter Park, CO (PRWEB) January 6, 2005 -- What if Saturns moon, Titan, had the same orbit as Earth? Or what if Titan were 200° C warmer?

The European Space Agencys Huygens probe, the scientific equipment laden spacecraft that separated from NASAs Cassini Saturn orbiter on December 24 and is set to enter Titans atmosphere January 14, will take measurements of Titan's atmosphere as it descends to Titans surface. The atmosphere is rich in nitrogen and contains methane and ethane -- two carbon-based gases present on early Earth. Ultraviolet sunlight can break down methane and ethane into organic compounds, which, when combined with other factors, form the building blocks of life.

Prof. Aristotel Pappelis1 and Dr. Peter Bahn2 await the data from Huygens. They have been performing Origin Of Life (OOL") experiments, seeking OOL answers for twenty plus years. Are the essential elements present on Titan to duplicate the famous Miller experiment, the primordial soup", from which amino acids arise and theoretically can self-order into branched proteins and proto-cells? The Huygens data will help to find answers.

Mark Rudis3, project manager for OOL commercialization, states numerous barriers must be overcome before identifiable compounds can be put in a jar, zapped with an energy source, and out comes a cell. But the science is in place to contemplate such a result.

1 Southern Illinois Univ., Prof. Emeritus, Carbondale, Illinois
2 Bahn Biotechnology Co., Mt. Vernon, Illinois
3 Attorney for OOL Group, Winter Park, Colorado

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