Plastic Found in Space

7/27/2019 Plastic Found in Space

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Plastic found in space: Cassini finds

propylene on Saturn's moon Titan- the first

time it has been discovered in another world Discovery could help us better understand how chemistry

works on Titan

Scientists claim this is similar to how chemistry operatedon ancient Earth

Probes had previously failed to identify propylene becauseits chemical signature was overshadowed by other, much

stronger, chemicals

ByEllie Zolfagharifard

You would expect to find plastic in your lunchbox, not on Saturns distant moonTitan.

But that's exactly where Nasa has found an ingredient of plastic - the first time

the chemical has been detected on another world.

The Cassini spacecraft found small amounts of propylene, a chemical used to

make storage containers on Earth, in the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon

Titan.

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The Cassini spacecraft found small amounts of propylene, a chemical used to make storage

containers on Earth, in the atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon Titan. The moon has a radius of

about 1,600 miles, is bigger than planet Mercury and is the second-largest moon in the solar

system

Titan is among the few bodies in the solar system with a significant atmosphere

made up of hydrocarbons.

The discovery could help us better understand how chemistry works on Titan,

which many scientists regard as similar to how chemistry operated on ancient

Earth before oxygen became significant ingredient.

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The small amount of propylene was identified in Titan's lower atmosphere by

Cassini's Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS).
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It is only present in a few parts per billion, and scientists would need to chain

together the molecules to mould it into polypropylene plastic.

NASA discovers Propylene on Saturn's moon Titan

SATURN'S GIANT MOON TITAN

Titan is Saturn's largest moon - with a radius of about 1,600 miles (2,574

kilometers), it's bigger than planet Mercury - and is the second-largest moon in

the solar system.

The atmosphere of Titan is largely composed of nitrogen; minor components

lead to the formation of methane and ethane clouds and nitrogen-rich organicsmog.

The climate -including wind and rain -creates surface features similar to those of

Earth, such as dunes, rivers, lakes and seas (probably of liquid methane andethane), and deltas, and is dominated by seasonal weather patterns as on Earth.

CIRS measured the infrared light, or heat radiation, emitted from Saturn and its

moons in much the same way our hands feel the warmth of a fire.


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By isolating the same signal at various altitudes within the lower atmosphere,

researchers identified the chemical with what they claim to be a high degree of

confidence.

This chemical is all around us in everyday life, strung together in long chains toform a plastic called polypropylene, said Conor Nixon, a planetary scientist at

Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Center.

That plastic container at the grocery store with the recycling code 5 on the

bottom - that's polypropylene.

The Voyager spacecraft had previously found propane, the heaviest member of the three-carbonfamily, and propyne, one of the lightest members. But the middle chemicals, one of which is

propylene, were missing

The detection of the chemical fills in a mysterious gap in Titan observations that

dates back to Nasa's Voyager 1 spacecraft and the first-ever close flyby of thismoon in 1980.

Voyager identified many of the gases in Titan's brownish atmosphere as

hydrocarbons, the chemicals that primarily make up petroleum and other fossilfuels on Earth.


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It detected all members of the one- and two-carbon families in Titan's

atmosphere.

From the three-carbon family, the spacecraft found propane, the heaviest

member, and propyne, one of the lightest members.

But the middle chemicals, one of which is propylene, were missing.

It was finally found as a result of more detailed analysis of the CIRS data.

Cassini's mass spectrometer, a device that looks at the composition of Titan's atmosphere, had

hinted earlier that propylene might be present in the upper atmosphere

This measurement was very difficult to make because propylene's weak

signature is crowded by related chemicals with much stronger signals, said

Michael Flasar, Goddard scientist and principal investigator for CIRS.

This successboosts our confidence that we will find still more chemicals long

hidden in Titan's atmosphere.

Cassini's mass spectrometer, a device that looks at the composition of Titan's

atmosphere, had hinted earlier that propylene might be present in the upper

atmosphere.


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However, a positive identification had not been made.

This new piece of the puzzle will provide an additional test of how well we

understand the chemical zoo that makes up Titan's atmosphere, said Edgington,

Cassini's deputy project scientist atNasas Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

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Plastic Found in Space