A Titan among worlds

Space Snapshot

In this image, taken from space, the areas shown as blue are lakes. But this isn’t a view of Earth. It’s a combination of radar images of the only other planetary body in the Solar System with stable bodies of liquid on its surface: Titan. These lakes are composed primarily of liquid methane, since the Saturnian moon is far too cold for liquid water. Learn more about Titan, one of the strangest and most fascinating worlds of our Solar System. Image source: NASA’s Cassini mission. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/USGS.

Fact Worth Sharing

You wouldn’t want to swim in Titan’s lakes. First of all, they are extremely cold (around -180 degrees Celsius or -290 degrees Fahrenheit). Second, you’d sink. Liquid methane is about half as dense as water, which wouldn’t create enough buoyancy to keep a human body afloat.

Mission Briefings

Titan could be a source of fuel for deep-space exploration. The moon’s chemistry is unique, with nitrogen and methane in its atmosphere, hydrocarbons on its surface, and oxygen in its ices. Recent research suggests that these can be seen as resources for making food, fuel, building materials, and more — potentially serving as a resupply base for long-term, deep-space missions in the far future. Pictured: An artist’s impression of the layers of Titan. Image credit: NASA.

The impact that killed the dinosaurs may have fueled other life underground. The heat from the impact formed warm underground pockets of water, creating conditions ideal for microbial life to thrive. A new study suggests that this life-friendly hydrothermal system may have persisted for at least 8 million years, around four times longer than previous estimates.

ESA has approved 13 mission extensions. The European Space Agency recently announced that it will extend 13 science missions that were due to end their current science phase before the end of 2026. These include the BepiColombo mission to Mercury, the Mars Express orbiter, ESA’s contributions to the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes, and more.

From The Planetary Society

Titan is the best place in the Solar System for flying. It could also be habitable to life as we know it. Learn more about this unusual, intriguing world in the ;latest episode of Planetary Radio, which features an interview with two leaders of NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Titan. Pictured: An artist’s impression of Dragonfly in flight. Image credit: JHUAPL.

At City of Astronomy, people showed their love for planets. The Planetary Society took part in the annual science festival in Pasadena, CA, last weekend. Learn more about our interactive exhibit and find out which planets won the most hearts.

Meet the winner of the Celestial Escape to Mauna Kea. Freya Sato of Duluth, Georgia, has won the luxury 5-night stay in Hawaii for the ultimate stargazing experience! The sweepstakes was made possible through the generous partnership of TapKat, Mauna Kea Resort, The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort, Keck Observatory, and Hawaii Forest & Trail, whose support brings this unique experience to life.

Take action to protect our planet. You help defend humanity and prevent asteroid impacts. It is thanks to support from people like you that The Planetary Society is able to work with partners around the world, advancing the science, technology, and advocacy needed to protect our planet and safeguard humanity’s future. Together, we are working to avoid a natural disaster that we have the ability to prevent. Will you make a gift today to help defend humanity?

Take Action

We are calling on people to speak out against a proposed rule that could stifle science in the United States. The White House's Office of Management and Budget recently released a proposed rule change that would fundamentally alter how the U.S. federal government manages grants, replacing merit-based peer review with partisan political review. If you live in the United States, we urge you to share your personal perspective on why this change will harm science.

What's Up

In the early evening, super-bright Venus dominates the western sky with very bright Jupiter close by, lower down. Mercury shines much more dimly below them, near the western horizon. In the predawn, yellowish Saturn shines near the eastern horizon, with reddish Mars lower down. June 21 is the solstice, marking the start of summer and the longest daytime of the year in the northern hemisphere, and winter and the shortest daytime of the year in the southern hemisphere. Learn more in our guide to June's night skies.

Join now and save space missions

If you are not one already, become a member TODAY and help shape the future of space science and exploration by fueling mission-critical advocacy efforts. Here’s just one example: The Planetary Society led efforts in Washington to Save NASA Science in 2025. Thanks to the support of our members, we were able to prevent an extinction-level budget cut to planetary exploration this year. Now we have to do it again.

Will you join us and protect the future of exploration?

Wow of the Week

Titan may be big in this week’s Downlink, but it looks pretty small from our perspective on Earth. Astrophotographer Damian Peach captured this image of Saturn (the bright object at the very center) and Titan (the tiny bright dot to its right), set against the backdrop of the Milky Way. See our image page for a high-res version of the photo and another with the planet and its moon pointed out. Image credit: Damian Peach.

Send us your artwork!

We love to feature space artwork in the Downlink. If you create any kind of space-related art, we invite you to send it to us by replying to any Downlink email or writing to [email protected]. Please let us know in your email if you’re a Planetary Society member!