News Planetary Science

Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon might contain a hidden ocean

The possibility increases the odds that oceans lurk on even more icy satellites

image of Saturn's moon Mimas

The enormous Herschel crater dominates Saturn’s moon Mimas, giving it a Death Star–like appearance. New evidence suggests a large ocean might also lurk beneath the moon’s ice.

JPL-Caltech/NASA, Space Science Institute

By Adam Mann

An uncanny resemblance to the Death Star might not be the only intriguing thing about Saturn’s moon Mimas. It could also harbor a vast ocean of liquid water beneath its pockmarked exterior.