Cassini Probe Sees Plastic Ingredient On Titan Moon

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Cassini Probe Sees Plastic Ingredient On Titan Moon

Posted by timothy on Tuesday October 1, 2013 @02:25AM from the windblown-grocery-bags dept.

Ron024 writes "The Cassini probe has detected propene, or propylene, on Saturn's moon Titan. It is the first definitive detection of the plastic ingredient on any moon or planet, other than our home world, says the U.S. space agency (NASA). The discovery, made by Cassini's infrared spectrometer, is reported in Astrophysical Journal Letters [abstract]."

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Clearly man made by DougOtto · 2013-10-01 02:25 · Score: 1

It was probably one of those plastic 6-pack holders.

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1. Re:Clearly man made by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:29 · Score: 0
  
  It was probably one of those plastic 6-pack holders.
  I was thinking used condoms but your guess is good too.
2. Re:Clearly man made by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:41 · Score: 0
  
  It was probably one of those plastic 6-pack holders.
  Not man-made.
  Redneck aliens drinking Buttwiper.
3. Re:Clearly man made by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:49 · Score: 0
  
  Yes. Those Titans are a bunch of litterbugs.
4. Re:Clearly man made by nospam007 · 2013-10-01 02:58 · Score: 1
  
  It was the Tupperware the pudding came in.
5. Re:Clearly man made by rwise2112 · 2013-10-01 02:59 · Score: 0
  
  Clearly man made
  So, a "That's no moon!" quote is actually appropriate here.
  
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  "For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert"
6. Re:Clearly man made by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 03:56 · Score: 0
  
  Or that the monoliths are made of polymers...
7. Re:Clearly man made by xevioso · 2013-10-01 04:00 · Score: 1
  
  I believe the Death Star was made of mostly metal.
8. Re:Clearly man made by asylumx · 2013-10-01 04:06 · Score: 1
  
  It's really sad how all those red-neck astronauts just throw their litter out the shuttle window, isn't it?
9. Re:Clearly man made by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 06:01 · Score: 0
  
  I believe the Death Star was made of mostly metal.
  You probably believe that it is "mostly" impervious to attack, too. Just wait until those uppity rebels show you what happens when you assume.
10. Re:Clearly man made by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 07:26 · Score: 0
  
  If it had been Europa rather than Titan...
  "My God! It's full of plastic!"
11. Re:Clearly man made by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 07:41 · Score: 0
  
  If they're calling it the Death Star you'd better believe it's metal
12. Re:Clearly man made by wooferhound · 2013-10-02 11:35 · Score: 1
  
  But the Storm troopers had plastic suits . . .
  
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really? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:31 · Score: 0

The last time I read about a plastic ingredient found in space, it was on Mars and the article had a picture of the Mardi Gras beads found by one of the rovers there. Maybe this time is legit.
1. Re:really? by Dexter+Herbivore · 2013-10-01 03:42 · Score: 1
  
  Stop believing Onion articles, even if you want to believe.
Not this again... by ModernGeek · 2013-10-01 02:31 · Score: 4, Informative

Doesn't anyone remember the last time we found plastic on another planet?

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1. Re:Not this again... by TWiTfan · 2013-10-01 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  Don't forget the methane on Mars, that was found and then un-found.
  
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2. Re:Not this again... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:56 · Score: 1
  
  Doesn't anyone remember the last time we found plastic on another planet?
  The Crying Indian by the side of the road has a tear in his eye for Mars and Titan.
3. Re:Not this again... by Hatta · 2013-10-01 02:57 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  It's not that implausible in the case of Titan. The moon is covered with hydrocarbons, it would be more suprising if none of those hydrocarbons were unsaturated. And that's all we're really talking about, individual propane monomers that have had a couple hydrogens knocked off. They're not even claiming to have found polypropylene.
  
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4. Re:Not this again... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 03:35 · Score: 0
  
  A moon with literal oceans of hydrocarbons?
  Quick! Somebody liberate the place! They need freedom!
5. Re:Not this again... by karlphillip9447 · 2013-10-01 04:09 · Score: 1
  
  Coruscant, Tatooin and Naboo to name a few! Oh wait.. those weren't actually real...
6. Re:Not this again... by SolitaryMan · 2013-10-01 11:01 · Score: 1
  
  Try to RTFA.
  It is not about "OMG we found propylene!!!". It is about the fact that we *did* find a lot of c3 hydrocarbones on Titan, but we didn't see the propylene, the simplest c3 hydrocarbone, before. Which was weird.
  
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7. Re:Not this again... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-02 18:24 · Score: 0
  
  You mean the one where it brought you to a site built to look like the nasa website, but is on a third-party domain? That was a BS story.
"Aliens" by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:32 · Score: 0

"Aliens"
1. Re:"Aliens" by OakDragon · 2013-10-01 07:45 · Score: 1
  
  No, Hank Hill. He sells propene and propene accessories.
  
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  Dark Reflection
Cow Farts found on Saturn by Tator+Tot · 2013-10-01 02:36 · Score: 2

"Today, NASA has found the remnants of cow flatulence on Saturn. Scientists call this mysterious gas "methane". According to these scientists, methane contains one carbon and 4 hydrogens. How exactly did this "methane" made it's way to Saturn? We are sure the scientists are working vigorously to find out."

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1. Re:Cow Farts found on Saturn by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 03:52 · Score: 0
  
  Once the government shutdown is over.
I hope the Cassini disposes of it properly by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:40 · Score: 1

Don't just chuck it into the garbage can where it will end up under some golf course.
Space station by LoRdTAW · 2013-10-01 02:40 · Score: 1

Titan looks like it could be a pretty interesting moon for building a space station. The atmospheric pressure is only 1.45 times of that on Earth meaning you could have the habitat pressure equalized with the atmosphere so pressure isn't a concern. If there is water trapped under ice as is speculated, we could produce oxygen for breathing and mix it with the plentiful nitrogen to make air similar to what we have on Earth. I don't know how much light reaches the surface, probably too little to be of use for solar so power generation would have to be from a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). Too bad there isn't any oxygen otherwise all that methane would be pretty damn useful for power and heat.
1. Re:Space station by ezrec · 2013-10-01 02:57 · Score: 1
  
  I think there's plenty of oxygen. The trick is to find a way to extract the O2 from the water ice (hopefully there is a percentage of O2 that is simply dissolved in the ice instead of having to use electrolysis) to make it advantageous to burn it with the methane for power.
  The equation should end up as the following for a viable mission using methane as a fuel:
  Heat cost of producing O2 < Heat generated by burning O2 with atmospheric methane.
2. Re:Space station by luckymutt · 2013-10-01 03:17 · Score: 1
  
  ...If there is water trapped under ice as is speculated, we could produce oxygen for breathing and mix it with the plentiful nitrogen to make air similar to what we have on Earth.
  
  Too bad there isn't any oxygen otherwise all that methane would be pretty damn useful for power and heat.
  Looks like you just solved the problem?
3. Re:Space station by tsa · 2013-10-01 03:39 · Score: 1
  
  You can't burn O2. You need O2 to burn methane.
  
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4. Re:Space station by RivenAleem · 2013-10-01 03:47 · Score: 2
  
  I do not think there would be any oxygen dissolved in the ice. That oxygen would have to have come from the atmosphere, not from the molecules. If anything, there would be dissolved methane trapped in the ice.
  No, I think that your only source of oxygen would be from electrolysis. But one should safely assume that any space station capable of succeeding anywhere, would have to be build with the capability of producing excesses of energy (nuclear or chemical).
  Who knows, by then we may have a relay of satellites that focus and transmit solar energy.
  BRB while I patent my Solar Heat Attenuated Radiation Konveyor - Laser array.
5. Re:Space station by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 04:31 · Score: 0
  
  That's what ezrec said...
  BTW, I like alcohol too.
6. Re:Space station by LoRdTAW · 2013-10-01 04:40 · Score: 2
  
  The problem is you can't get a neat gain from burning methane + O2 and using that energy to make more O2 and have energy left over. You would need an abundant supply of oxygen or a method of splitting water that is more efficient.
7. Re:Space station by LoRdTAW · 2013-10-01 04:42 · Score: 1
  
  Or, I just thought about it. If the station were big enough I wonder if a sufficient amount of oxygen could be generated by plants. Then you may be able to get a surplus but then you still need night energy for the plants to grow. Its an interesting thought.
8. Re:Space station by X0563511 · 2013-10-01 05:56 · Score: 1
  
  "burn it with the methane" - I don't really understand how you misread that.
  
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9. Re:Space station by anyanka · 2013-10-01 06:29 · Score: 1
  
  Which means, basically, using solar power – and if there's enough for the plants, there is likely enough for other purposes as well. And you'll need carbon dioxide (which is, apparently, available in trace amounts, which is perhaps enough).
10. Re:Space station by tsa · 2013-10-01 07:11 · Score: 1
  
  You burn methane, not O2. I guess for a non-chemist that's nitpicking though.
  
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11. Re:Space station by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 07:15 · Score: 1
  
  Keep your Great White light away from my moon!
12. Re:Space station by cusco · 2013-10-01 07:36 · Score: 2
  
  No, solar power won't even work at Jupiter, much less Saturn. The amount of solar panel necessary to eliminate the RTG on Galileo would have made the spacecraft so enormous that it wouldn't have been stable enough for photography in Jupiter's gravity field. Saturn is even further out, receiving even less sunlight. At that distance you're stuck with nuclear power or some other more exotic energy source. Since both Jupiter and Saturn are surrounded by powerful energy fields perhaps there would be some way to tap that with a tether or something. Solar won't do it.
  
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13. Re:Space station by anyanka · 2013-10-01 08:17 · Score: 1
  
  Yes. I seem to remember someone comparing the light levels to moonlight – but can't remember if that was Saturn or Jupiter, or perhaps even closer.
Oh good by slashmydots · 2013-10-01 02:42 · Score: 1

Now I can bring my 3D printer along when I vacation there.
1. Re:Oh good by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:46 · Score: 0
  
  LOL excellent! Don't forget to bring blankets, it's a bit cold there! And a flashlight.
great for marketing by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 02:46 · Score: 1

"Made with ALL NATURAL propylene!"
It's from the USA by Theophile · 2013-10-01 02:49 · Score: 0, Troll

As all good environmentalists will tell you, all pollution on Earth is generated from the USA. All trash on other planets must be there because of the USA. If it got there within the last few years, it is Bush's fault. Therefore a new tax must be levied on the US by the citizens of Earth (and citizens of Cassini) to force the greedy capitalist pigs to provide union labor to do trash collection on Cassini, fix man-made global warming on Cassini, and restore it to an Eden-like state.
1. Re:It's from the USA by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 03:11 · Score: 0
  
  That's amazing. Do you use a script to generate these sentences?
2. Re:It's from the USA by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 03:34 · Score: 0
  
  Cassini is the probe, you moron. Titan is the moon.
3. Re:It's from the USA by loufoque · 2013-10-01 04:48 · Score: 1
  
  The USA generates a significant portion of trash and pollution (and it refuses to reduce this amount because it would affect the economy), but AFAIK it is still behind China.
4. Re:It's from the USA by The+Grim+Reefer · 2013-10-01 06:10 · Score: 2
  
  The USA generates a significant portion of trash and pollution (and it refuses to reduce this amount because it would affect the economy), but AFAIK it is still behind China.
  This is /. Please stop using facts to interfere with USA bashing.
Beware of Autons by Jason+Levine · 2013-10-01 02:58 · Score: 3, Funny

You know what this means? The Nestene Consciousness is probably living there with its army of Autons. Someone call the Doctor!

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Carlin was right by l0ungeb0y · 2013-10-01 03:04 · Score: 3, Funny

Planets want plastic and we evolved to make lots of it. So get over your "save the planet" BS and start giving the planet more plastic.
We should create a Kickstarter to send a shipment to Titan which while working hard to make it's own, clearly would be happy with much more.
1. Re:Carlin was right by asylumx · 2013-10-01 04:07 · Score: 1
  
  But wouldn't it make Earth unhappy if we shipped its hard-earned plastic to a neighboring planet's moon?
2. Re:Carlin was right by Notabadguy · 2013-10-01 04:25 · Score: 1
  
  I think you're mistaken.
  An empty plastic container on the side of the road on Earth is littering. What this really means is that the species that preceded us as life in our solar system were also litterers. There are several interesting results of this discovery.
  1. The EPA will now find a reason to send an expedition to Titan to find out what intergalactic race left their plastic refuse on the surface with the intent of fining them. They'll likely attempt to date the plastic and retroactively apply the fine (with interest) to the original date of littering, justifying their expedition on the premise that the fine will make everyone on earth trillionaires. This will likely result in our first - and last - interstellar war and the extinction of humanity.
  2. Before the "Plastic Crusade" reaches it's inevitable conclusion, anyone who gets caught littering can now plead "not guilty" with judges with the explanation that the aliens that seeded our planet with life were litterers and that we've been genetically coded to litter - so it's not our fault.
Hogan was right! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 03:16 · Score: 0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_the_Lifemaker
Old news by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 03:20 · Score: 0

This came out over six months ago.
Nice try.
... untold environmental consequences ... by dogsbreath · 2013-10-01 03:27 · Score: 4, Funny

... when migrating aliens get their heads ( er ... extended body parts? ) caught in these 6 pack devil traps and can no longer execute their primary function:
** probing anal orifices **
A sad discovery indeed.
Water bottle by p51d007 · 2013-10-01 03:45 · Score: 0

Perhaps Marvin the Martian took out his trash and dumped it on Titan?
1. Re:Water bottle by VanessaE · 2013-10-02 05:46 · Score: 1
  
  No, see, when the Enterprise emerged from warp, they did a quick trash dump just before leaving the atmosphere.
Universal Will to Become by imatter · 2013-10-01 03:53 · Score: 1

UWTB explains it all.
Chewbacca is suspect by sl4shd0rk · 2013-10-01 03:55 · Score: 1

Likely it's discarded trash from deep-fried Ewoks-on-a-stick. How is this not obvious?

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Where do I sign up for 'Adopt A Planet' by kawabago · 2013-10-01 04:00 · Score: 1

There is life on other worlds and they're using Titan for a garbage dump!
I made it! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 04:11 · Score: 0

Almost unbelievable, my LEGO ROCKET made it to Titan's Moon!
Yay! I'm a fucking hero!
I know who left it there by cellocgw · 2013-10-01 04:12 · Score: 1

The Sirens Didn't clean up too well after getting the critical repair part from Earth.

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Alien's trash discovered by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 04:15 · Score: 0

It must be the plastic in that surface tablet that was dumped with other trash by aliens passing by.
Uh oh ... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-01 04:16 · Score: 0

Petrochemicals on a moon ... now America can go in and 'liberate' them from oppression since there's money to be had.
Expect US industry to start drawing up plans to frack Titan.
Uh oh by mu51c10rd · 2013-10-01 06:49 · Score: 3, Funny

So aliens use plastic too eh? Greenpeace is going to have a fit...
On a sun sat relay to Titan... by Herve5 · 2013-10-01 07:44 · Score: 1

I fear relaying Sun towards Titan is at least as vain as the famous James Bond sun-focussing sat in whatever episode it was: very simple calculations starting from the Sun diameter show that given the distances involved, with ordinary optics you at best double the ordinary power (1 Kw/m2 -> 2Kw/m2 on Earth -nothing like an explosive setup).
If anything, given the huge distances and our not-huge-satellite-size capacity, this factor would be lower on Titan. Now, as you say, there remains the laser. But then you have to factor conversion losses in, unless you find a way to directly use sunlight as the exciting light.
All of this sounds very theoretical IMHO I vote for your nuclear generator ;-)

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Aliens by manu0601 · 2013-10-01 14:01 · Score: 1

Yeah, we found proof of alien industrial pollution
And since we found no cooper wire on the surface, it means they also master radio communications!
Not necessarily MAN-made... by SST-206 · 2013-10-02 04:28 · Score: 1

cf. Roadside Picnic:

The artifacts and phenomena left behind by the Visitors in the Zones were garbage, discarded and forgotten

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