Ariel, the Sparkling Satellite.
Have you ever wondered what is beyond the Earth? What existing and visible bodies for the human being can be found? 3000 million kilometers from the sun, Ariel is found. Being one of the 27 moons of Uranus, it is one of the most important from it, since its surface is one of the youngest, least cratered, and the brightest in the Uranus System. This natural satellite was discovered by William Lassell on October 24, 1851.
However, the Uranus satellite system is the least known in the entire solar system, for this reason, it would be interesting to send a probe to Ariel. Another issue would be its large amount of ammonia, which is antifreeze and as Ariel has an ice cover, it might allow the sparkling satellite to be the owner of a subterranean liquid ocean, which means that it would be a candidate for an oceanic world like Europa, Titan, Triton or Pluto.
Taking into account the previous hypothesis, if a probe is sent to Ariel and water is found, a sample of it can be taken and brought to Earth for examination, this because of its amount of ammonia, which can be toxic and generate health diseases to the human. So, if the water coming from this moon is in optimal conditions, it could benefit humankind due to the fact that it is needed and there is lack of it on Earth.
In brief, we chose Ariel among the other Uranus’ moons because we want to expand our knowledge, and not only explore those large bodies, but also those of less size that can contribute to the development of human species in the future.
By Isabella Botero and
María M. Cerpa,
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