
Could Pluto Harbor a Hidden Ocean?
2025-07-14
Author: Mei
As scientists look beyond Earth in the quest for extraterrestrial life, attention is shifting toward the mysterious liquid oceans believed to lie beneath the icy surfaces of distant moons.
But could a dwarf planet like Pluto, located a staggering distance from our Sun, also conceal a liquid ocean? If so, it might revolutionize our search for signs of life beyond our planet!
Unveiling the Mystery of Pluto's Ocean
Water worlds are not just science fiction; both Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, are known to house vast oceans beneath their frozen crusts. These worlds have conditions that may support microbial life, making them prime candidates in our cosmic exploration.
Pluto isn’t often included in this conversation, but a December 2016 study suggested that its internal warmth might sustain a subsurface ocean at depths of around 100 kilometers (60 miles) below its icy exterior. Fast forward to June 2020, when researchers theorized that this hidden ocean might have been hospitable when it first formed and could even sustain life today if conditions are just right.
What Would a Pluto Ocean Mean for Us?
If Pluto does indeed sport a hidden ocean, it would be located much deeper and in a much colder, darker corner of our Solar System—approximately 4.5 times farther from the Sun than Europa and over twice as distant as Enceladus.
This extreme distance poses significant challenges for microbial life; however, the existence of liquid water at such a remote location would prove that oceans can exist even on the fringes of our Solar System.
For now, the debate over Pluto's ocean remains unresolved, but the implications of such a discovery could reshape our understanding of habitability beyond Earth.