Dwarf Planet between Mars-Jupiter becomes contender for alien life with its salty ocean

A dwarf planet named Ceres, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is a new contender in the list of celestial bodies deemed capable of hosting alien life.

Discovered in 2015 by NASA’s Dawn probe, researchers believe the dwarf planet could have had water in the past that has now evaporated and left behind sodium carbonate -- a compound made of sodium, carbon, and oxygen. According to scientists, the salty crust on Ceres' surface is a clear indication of water having existed on the dwarf planet before it evaporated but where the water came from remained a mystery until now.

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‘Ocean World’

According to reports, NASA’s Dawn probe orbited around Ceres for three years before it ran out of fuel in 2018. The probe collected invaluable data from 35 kilometres above the dwarf planet's surface which is being analysed to date.

Earlier this week, researchers discovered that the water on the surface most likely came from an underground reservoir about 25 miles deep and hundreds of miles wide. The finding was shared in a series of papers on August 10.

This discovery puts Ceres among a very select group of other space objects that also have sub-surface oceans and are therefore contenders for the presence of alien life. Other such objects in this category are Enceladus (a moon of Saturn) and Europa ( a moon of Jupiter).

In a press note, Marc Rayman, Mission Director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said: "Dawn accomplished far more than we hoped when it embarked on its extraordinary extraterrestrial expedition."

 "These exciting new discoveries from the end of its long and productive mission are a wonderful tribute to this remarkable interplanetary explorer," added the NASA Official. 

(Image Credit Twitter/@NASASolarSystem)

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