Mathematical models to explain the cracks and protrusions observed by NASA’s New Horizons mission in Pluto’s Sputnik Planitia support the existence of a deep ocean. This basin was the site of a meteorite collision billions of years ago. Calculations by Patrick McGovern of the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) and Alex Nguyen, a doctoral student at Washington University in St. Louis, indicate that the ocean in this area exists beneath a water ice layer 40 to 80 kilometers thick, a protective mantle that likely prevents the interior ocean from freezing. They also calculated the probable density or salinity of the … Continue reading Pluto’s Secret Ocean: Discover the Depths Revealed by NASA’s New Horizons Mission