NASA’s Cassini spacecraft took a close look at Kraken Mare, a large sea composed largely of methane and ethane on Saturn’s moon Titan. Cassini sounded the depths of the ocean along a 120 mile shore to shore region.

Along a 25 mile segment along a flooded river valley, the radar showed depths of 66 to 115 feet. Other areas of Kraken Mare did not return a radar reading. This could indicate that the liquid is absorbing the radar or that the sea is very deep in those regions.

Casini’s radar and imaging system, known as Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS), also captured two “magic islands” similar to the one spotted the Ligeia Mare sea. It is not known exactly what these areas are and Cassini will not be able to take a second look. Nasa researchers, however, believe that the areas are either waves, wet ground or floating debris. Cassini will get a second look at the Ligeia Mare island in January.

Although it might be difficult to imagine, some scientists believe that life might be possible on Titan. Although the cold, methane moon would be very uncomfortable for humans, it is possible that different life forms could evolve in seas toxic to us.

“We will never know if liquid water is the only special solvent in which life can form and propagate unless we go and sample these damn lakes and seas,” planetary scientist Jonathan Lunine of Cornell University according to National Geographic.

Cassini first launched in 1997 and arrived at Saturn in 2004. Since that time the spacecraft has made remarkable discoveries relating to Saturn and its moons. These include evidence of an ocean of liquid water on Enceladus, which is now considered one of the most likely places in the solar system to host microbial life.

According to a statement from NASA, the latest Cassini flyby information was presented at the Division for Planetary Sciences Meeting of the American Astronomical Society held in Tucson, Arizona this week.

It is not clear at this stage when or how the Cassini mission will end. Additional information about the mission is available at nasa.gov/cassini.