Saturnian System Research Articles

2019 UO14: A Transient Trojan of Saturn

Saturn has long been the only giant planet in our solar system without any known Trojan members. In this Letter, with serendipitous archival observations and refined orbit determination, we report that 2019 UO14 is a Trojan of the gas giant. However, the object is only a transient Trojan currently librating around the leading Lagrange point L 4 of the Sun–Saturn system in a period of ∼0.7 kyr. Our N-body numerical simulation shows that 2019 UO14 was likely captured as a Centaur and became trapped around L 4 ∼ 2 kyr ago from a horseshoe co-orbital. The current Trojan state will be maintained for another millennium or thereabouts before transitioning back to a horseshoe state. Additionally, we characterize the physical properties of 2019 UO14. Assuming a linear phase slope of 0.06 ± 0.01 mag deg−1, the mean r-band absolute magnitude of the object was determined to be H r = 13.11 ± 0.07, with its color measured to be consistent with that of Jupiter and Neptune Trojans and not statistically different from Centaurs. Although the short-lived Saturn Trojan exhibited no compelling evidence of activity in the observations, we favor the possibility that it could be an active Trojan. If confirmed, 2019 UO14 would be marked as the first active Trojan in our solar system. We conservatively determine the optical depth of dust within our photometric aperture to be ≲10−7, corresponding to a dust mass-loss rate to be ≲1 kg s−1, provided that the physical properties of dust grains resemble Centaur 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann 1.

Modified method of round Gaussian rings. Application to the two-planetary problem

A scheme of the modified method of round Gaussian rings, designed to study the secular evolution of orbits in systems consisting of a central star and two planets, is presented. The reason for the secular evolution of the nodes and inclinations of the orbits of the planets is their mutual gravitational attraction. The orbits of the planets are modeled by homogeneous round Gaussian rings, to which the masses, sizes and angles of inclination of the orbits, as well as orbital angular momenta of the planets, are transferred. The method takes into account the fact that, in general, the ascending nodes of the orbits may not coincide. The mutual gravitational energy of the rings 𝑊𝑚𝑢𝑡 is represented as a series in the quadratic approximation in powers of small inclination angles. Using this function 𝑊𝑚𝑢𝑡, a closed system of four differential equations describing the secular evolution of the planets’ orbits is composed. The solution to the equations is obtained in finite analytic form, which simplifies the interpretation of the investigated planetary motions. The method was tested on the example of the Sun-Jupiter-Saturn system; for it, in particular, the difference in the longitudes of the nodes of the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn was calculated as a function of time. New approach is also used to study the precession of nodes in the exoplanetary system K2-36; graphs of all unknown quantities are obtained. It has been established that in the course of evolution the mutual inclination angle of the orbits remains constant, and the librations of the orbits in the inclination angle and in the motion of the nodes occur synchronously.

Evidence for phospholipid self-organisation in concentrated ammonia-water environments

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn is thought to have the potential to support primordial life. The surface of Titan contains bodies of liquid hydrocarbons, and modelling suggests that an ammonia-water ocean resides deep beneath the surface, both of which have been speculated to support primordial chemistry. Here we present the first evidence that both preformed and self-organised phospholipid vesicles remain stable and can maintain concentration gradients in ammonia-water environments; a fundamental requirement for primordial chemistry and biology to originate. We further reveal the remarkable stability of a diether phospholipid, such as those found in extremophilic bacteria, under these conditions and demonstrate that electron microscopy and tomography are useful tools to investigate macromolecular structure under diverse physico-chemical environments.

Redshifted Sodium Transient near Exoplanet Transit

Neutral sodium (Na i) is an alkali metal with a favorable absorption cross section such that tenuous gases are easily illuminated at select transiting exoplanet systems. We examine both the time-averaged and time-series alkali spectral flux individually, over 4 nights at a hot Saturn system on a ∼2.8 day orbit about a Sun-like star WASP-49 A. Very Large Telescope/ESPRESSO observations are analyzed, providing new constraints. We recover the previously confirmed residual sodium flux uniquely when averaged, whereas night-to-night Na i varies by more than an order of magnitude. On HARPS/3.6 m Epoch II, we report a Doppler redshift at v Γ,NaD = + 9.7 ± 1.6 km s−1 with respect to the planet’s rest frame. Upon examining the lightcurves, we confirm night-to-night variability, on the order of ∼1%–4% in NaD, rarely coinciding with exoplanet transit, not readily explained by stellar activity, starspots, tellurics, or the interstellar medium. Coincident with the ∼+10 km s−1 Doppler redshift, we detect a transient sodium absorption event dF NaD/F ⋆ = 3.6% ± 1% at a relative difference of ΔF NaD(t) ∼ 4.4% ± 1%, lasting Δt NaD ≳ 40 minutes. Since exoplanetary alkali signatures are blueshifted due to the natural vector of radiation pressure, estimated here at roughly ∼−5.7 km s−1, the radial velocity is rather at +15.4 km s−1, far larger than any known exoplanet system. Given that the redshift magnitude v Γ is in between the Roche limit and dynamically stable satellite orbits, the transient sodium may be a putative indication of a natural satellite orbiting WASP-49 A b.

Looking for Subsurface Oceans Within the Moons of Uranus Using Librations and Gravity

AbstractSeveral of the icy moons in the Jupiter and Saturn systems appear to possess internal liquid water oceans. Our knowledge of the Uranian moons is more limited but a future tour of the system has the potential to detect subsurface oceans. Planning for this requires an understanding of how the moons' internal structures—with and without oceans—relate to observable quantities. Here, we show that the amplitude of forced physical librations could be diagnostic of the presence or absence of subsurface oceans within the Uranian moons. In the presence of a decoupling global ocean, ice shell libration amplitudes at Miranda, Ariel, and Umbriel will exceed 100 m if the shells are thick. The presence of oceans could also imply significant tidal heating within the last few hundred million years. Combining librations with the quadrupole gravity field could provide comprehensive constraints on the internal structures and histories of the Uranian moons.

Flexible Bridge-Conic Strategies for Moon-to-Moon Analytical Transfer Design

The multi-burn transfer framework based on the moon-to-moon analytical transfer method allows rapid patching of low-energy trajectories in the vicinity of different moons in a planetary system. However, the semimajor axis and eccentricity of intermediate arcs of one transfer mission are fixed in the existent multi-burn strategies. Additional propellant consumption is required to enable the transfers at all departure epochs, and a nonanalytical formulation still remains for transferring to spatial periodic orbits. To address these difficulties, new multi-burn strategies with variable intermediate arcs are proposed to meet the transfer conditions for different types of arrival orbits. Specifically, one or two intermediate arcs with one variable parameter are introduced and can be determined analytically. In numerical simulations, the proposed flexible bridge-conic strategies are applied to design transfers between libration point orbits in both the Jovian and Saturnian systems. Final results validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategies and indicate the important advantage in propellant saving compared with the existent multi-burn strategies.

Mutation Operator for Resonance Flybys in Moon Tour Design Optimization

The global optimization of the moon tour design problem is addressed in this paper. These missions are usually designed using graphical methods or grid search, which require simplifying assumptions, and a skillful mission designer. The grid search methods are computationally intense. Trajectories with a high number of flybys and multiple resonance flybys are usually hard to optimize, especially with small-size/short-period flyby moons. This work proposes a new mutation operator that is incorporated with the Monotonic Basin Hopping in the Evolutionary Mission Trajectory Generator tool; this mutation operator increases the exploration of resonance flybys to improve convergence in moon tour design optimization problems. In this work, the Hidden Genes Genetic Algorithm is used to optimize the undetermined number of moon flybys. A Europa Clipper-like mission is optimized assuming two-body dynamics, and a validation study for the proposed resonance mutation operator is presented. The results include an optimized baseline solution and a new solution with a different sequence of flybys with a different sequence of flybys for the Europa Clipper-like mission, in addition to an optimized moon tour in the Saturnian system.

Alternative Pathways in Astrobiology: Reviewing and Synthesizing Contingency and Non-Biomolecular Origins of Terrestrial and Extraterrestrial Life.

The pursuit of understanding the origins of life (OoL) on and off Earth and the search for extraterrestrial life (ET) are central aspects of astrobiology. Despite the considerable efforts in both areas, more novel and multifaceted approaches are needed to address these profound questions with greater detail and with certainty. The complexity of the chemical milieu within ancient geological environments presents a diverse landscape where biomolecules and non-biomolecules interact. This interaction could lead to life as we know it, dominated by biomolecules, or to alternative forms of life where non-biomolecules could play a pivotal role. Such alternative forms of life could be found beyond Earth, i.e., on exoplanets and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Challenging the notion that all life, including ET life, must use the same building blocks as life on Earth, the concept of contingency-when expanded beyond its macroevolution interpretation-suggests that non-biomolecules may have played essential roles at the OoL. Here, we review the possible role of contingency and non-biomolecules at the OoL and synthesize a conceptual model formally linking contingency with non-biomolecular OoL theories. This model emphasizes the significance of considering the role of non-biomolecules both at the OoL on Earth or beyond, as well as their potential as agnostic biosignatures indicative of ET Life.

Unveiling the Reaction Mechanism of the N(2D) + Pyridine Reaction: Ring-Contraction versus 7-Membered-Ring Formation Channels.

Despite the relevance of the reactions of the prototypical nitrogen-containing six-membered aromatic molecule (N-heterocyclic) of pyridine (C6H5N) in environmental science, astrochemistry, planetary science, prebiotic chemistry, and materials science, few experimental/theoretical studies exist on the bimolecular reactions involving pyridine and neutral atomic/molecular radicals. We report a combined experimental and theoretical study on the elementary reaction of pyridine with excited nitrogen atoms, N(2D), aimed at providing information about the primary reaction products and their branching fractions (BFs). From previous crossed molecular beam (CMB) experiments with mass-spectrometric detection and present synergistic calculations of the reactive potential energy surface (PES) and product BFs we have unveiled the reaction mechanism. It is found that the reaction proceeds via N(2D) barrierless addition to pyridine that, via bridged intermediates followed by N atom "sliding" into the ring, leads to 7-membered-ring structures. They further evolve, mainly via ring-contraction mechanisms toward 5-membered-ring radical products and, to a smaller extent, via H-displacement mechanisms toward 7-membered-ring isomeric products and their isomers. Using the theoretical statistical estimates, an improved fit of the experimental data previously reported has been obtained, leading to the following results for the dominant product channels: C4H4N (pyrrolyl) + HCN (BF = 0.61 ± 0.20), C3H3N2 (1H-imidazolyl/1H-pyrazolyl) + C2H2 (BF = 0.11 ± 0.06), and C5H4N2 (7-membered-ring molecules or pyrrole carbonitriles) + H (BF = 0.28 ± 0.10). The ring-contraction product channels C4H4N (pyrrolyl) + HCN, C3H3N2 (1H-imidazolyl) + C2H2, C3H3N2 (1H-pyrazolyl) + C2H2, and C5H5 (cyclopentadienyl) + N2 have statistical BFs of 0.54, 0.09, 0.11, and 0.07, respectively. Among the H-displacement channels, the cyclic-CHCHCHCHNCN + H channel and cyclic-CHCHCHCHCN2 + H are theoretically predicted to have a comparable BF (0.07 and 0.06, respectively), while the other isomeric 7-membered-ring molecule + H channel has a BF of 0.03. Pyrrole-carbonitriles and 1H-ethynyl-1H-imidazole (+ H) isomeric channels have an overall BF of 0.03. Implications for the chemistry of Saturn's moon Titan and prebiotic chemistry, as well as for understanding the N-doping of graphene or carbon nanotubes, are noted.

The Astrobiological Potential of the Uranian Moon System.

The 2023-2032 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey prioritized the Uranus Orbiter and Probe (UOP) mission concept as the next priority flagship mission. The UOP concept includes scientific studies of the Uranian moon system. Although the Uranian moons differ greatly from the ocean worlds in the Jovian and Saturnian systems, the emerging hypothesis is that some of them could at least sustain thin, potentially concentrated, oceans. Herein, we make a case that these moons are important and interesting targets of astrobiological research. Studying these worlds would provide critical astrobiological data related to their habitability, including origin, evolution, and potential death, as well as the formation and evolution of ocean worlds more broadly. There is a strong need for research that connects astrobiology to modeling and experimentation to better characterize the possible conditions of these worlds, and this will be critical in formulating and maximizing the potential science that could be done by a Uranus flagship mission.

A Hamiltonian for 1/1 rotational secondary resonances, and application to small satellites of Saturn and Jupiter

In this work, we study the dynamics of rotation of the small satellites Methone and Aegaeon and revisit previous works on the rotation of Prometheus, Metis, and Amalthea. In all cases, the surfaces of section computed with the standard spin–orbit model reveal that the synchronous regime with small amplitude of libration shares another large domain in the phase space. We reproduce and apply the hamiltonian theory given in Wisdom 2004 [1] to analytically characterize the detected structure as being a secondary resonance where the period of the physical libration is similar to the orbital period of the satellite. We also show that the amplitude of libration in the secondary resonance is always larger than in the case of the other mode. Since the current rotational states of these sorts of satellites should be synchronous, our results can be considered in evolutionary studies of their rotation.

An inorganic silicate simulant to represent the interior of enceladus

Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, consists of an ice shell, global subsurface ocean and a silicate interior. By sampling plume material, the Cassini spacecraft found evidence of ongoing water-rock reactions between the silicate interior and the subsurface ocean. These data showed that these reactions provide a source of bioessential elements to the ocean, making Enceladus one of the leading astrobiological targets in our Solar System. Understanding these water-rock reactions is critical in understanding the potential habitability of Enceladus. To study these reactions experimentally, a chemical simulant to represent the contemporary silicate interior of Enceladus has been designed. Based on the available interpretations of Cassini data about the density, chemical composition, and aqueous alteration of the interior, the chosen starting point for the simulant is a CI chondrite. However, Enceladus is still undergoing active aqueous alteration, thus its silicate mineral assemblage cannot have reached the fully altered assemblage seen in a CI chondrite. To account for this, adaptations have been made to a CI chondrite mineral assemblage, extrapolating back to an assemblage of less aqueously altered minerals whilst maintaining the same chemical composition in terms of major oxide phases. Thus, the chemical and mineralogical composition of this simulant represents a best estimate of the silicate components in the ongoing water rock interactions on Enceladus today.

Ephemeris accuracy improvement for moons of gas giants: a deep learning based method

Ephemerides accuracy of gas giant planetary system is of paramount importance in astronomical research, planetary exploration missions, and space navigation. Traditional mathematical methods face challenges when processing with data of different observation precisions, which may lead to extra noise and reduce the ephemeris accuracy. This paper proposes an Denoising Autoencoder based Method for Ephemeris Improvement (DAMEI) to improve the accuracy of ephemerides for moons in gas giant planetary system. Utilizing multiple sources of data efficiently, the DAMEI method can mitigate the impact of noise and uncertainty introduced by observational data with different precisions. Based on the symmetrical structure, the DAMEI method learns to encode essential motion features of gas giant planetary system into a latent space and captures the intricate patterns in planetary motion from observational data, subsequently decodes it to improve the ephemeris accuracy. The experimental results show that, for Jupiter’s major satellites (Galilean moons), the DAMEI method achieves more accurate ephemeris of up to 91.65% compared with current mathematical method. The proposed method is also assessed with satellites of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. It is shown that the DAMEI method also presents a better performance of up to 95.37%. The promising performance of DAMEI method can reduce the uncertainty introduced by low-accuracy data and improve ephemeris accuracy making the utmost of observational data with different precisions.

Impacts of Hydrostatic Pressure on Distributed Temperature-Sensing Optical Fibers for Extreme Ocean and Ice Environments

Optical fiber is increasingly used for both communication and distributed sensing of temperature and strain in environmental studies. In this work, we demonstrate the viability of unreinforced fiber tethers (bare fiber) for Raman-based distributed temperature sensing in deep ocean and deep ice environments. High-pressure testing of single-mode and multimode optical fiber showed little to no changes in light attenuation over pressures from atmospheric to 600 bars. Most importantly, the differential attenuation between Stokes and anti-Stokes frequencies, critical for the evaluation of distributed temperature sensing, was shown to be insignificantly affected by fluid pressures over the range of pressures tested for single-mode fiber, and only very slightly affected in multimode fiber. For multimode fiber deployments to ocean depths as great as 6000 m, the effect of pressure-dependent differential attenuation was shown to impact the estimated temperatures by only 0.15 °K. These new results indicate that bare fiber tethers, in addition to use for communication, can be used for distributed temperature or strain in fibers subjected to large depth (pressure) in varying environments such as deep oceans, glaciers and potentially the icy moons of Saturn and Jupiter.

Early Feasibility Study with the SATURN Transapical Mitral Valve Replacement Device

PurposeTo report the outcomes of the early feasibility study of transapical transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) with the SATURN System (InnovHeart, Milano, Italy) to treat patients with severe functional mitral regurgitation. DescriptionFive high surgical risk patients underwent transapical transcatheter mitral valve replacement with the SATURN System at a single center. One-year follow-up is complete for all patients. EvaluationThe valve was implanted successfully in all patients without any major adverse events. All patients were alive at the last follow-up. Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire improved from a median of 63.5 (interquartile range, 19.6) at baseline to 99.0 (interquartile range, 21.6) at 1 year. Echocardiographic follow-up demonstrates stable valve function, no transvalvular or paravalvular mitral regurgitation, and absence of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. ConclusionsAt 1 year after transapical SATURN transcatheter mitral valve replacement, all patients are alive with quality of life improvement and favorable device hemodynamics. These initial results are promising and larger scale studies with continued follow-up are required to further elucidate the efficacy and safety of this novel technology.

Evidence and concerns about a latent, embryonic phase tectonic evolution and the existence of the young subsurface ocean on Mimas

The icy moons of outer Solar system gas and ice giants have been in the spotlight of scientific and common interest because of the possibility of a subsurface ocean hidden under their ice shells, which may harbor extraterrestrial life. The patterns of various lineaments on the surface of icy satellites may indicate active tectonic processes and the interaction between the surface and the subsurface ocean, which allows material transport toward the habitat of putative alien life. In the case of Mimas, one of the moons of Saturn, new models challenge the long-standing conclusion about the satellite being an inactive snowball, suggesting the existence of a young ocean hiding under its ice shell. Unfortunately, no observable evidence has been found implying ongoing or probably already stopped tectonic activity and the theoretical subsurface ocean. Here, we present the first structural geological map of the icy satellite, with the signs of various tectonic features, along with a simple crosscutting chronology of lineaments formation. In accordance with the theoretical young age of the subsurface ocean, the observed phenomena are described as putative lineaments, ridges, and troughs. Such simple tectonic features are identified as young compared to complex structures, such as bands appearing on other satellites. The pattern of the linear features seems to overlap with the allocation of various modeled global nonlinear tidal dissipation patterns. In such a way, it may indicate the possible existence of the theoretical subsurface stealth ocean. With such an evolving young subsurface ocean and the barely recognizable pattern of simple lineaments, Mimas may represent a newly recognized group of icy satellites showing the early, latent, embryonic phase of tectonic activity. In contrast, the overlapping and crosscutting relations between craters and the observed features may raise some concerns about the “recent” formation of such linear features, indicating possibly long-time dormant or already stopped tectonic processes at the very early, embryonic phase of lineament formation billions of years ago. Despite the possible additional triggers of tectonic processes on icy satellites (e.g., surface crust mobility by plastic subsurface deformation), the presented geological investigation brought a new angle and additional evidence about a possible stealth ocean hiding under the crater-covered surface of Mimas, regardless of its geological age and recent state of evolution. Undoubtedly, the results and the raised concerns will trigger more intense investigations on Mimas and other, similar icy satellites in the Solar system.

Московский государственный университет геодезии и картографии: 245 лет на службе интересам Отечества

The authors explore the history of foundation and development of one of the oldest universities in Russia, Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography (MIIGAiK). They note that it has acted as a fundamental scientific and educational institution in the field of geodesy and cartography, successfully solving the most important governmental goals for its more than two centuries of its history. The historical features are revealed, as well as the current activities and development prospects of the University are analyzed. For decades, our scientists have been the leaders in scientific developments for the space industry. The institution successfully operates a Comprehensive Laboratory for the Study of Extraterrestrial Territories, exploring the natural satellites of Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. MIIGAiK is the main university of the rocket and space industry, which is part of the “Roscosmos Constellation” consortium. It is an integral element of the city and the country ecosystem paying special attention to arranging a comfortable and safe cultural and educational environment to develop creative and professional potential of each student

Numerical model of Phobos’ motion incorporating the effects of free rotation

Context. High-precision ephemerides are not only useful in supporting space missions, but also in investigating the physical nature of celestial bodies. This paper reports an update to the orbit and rotation model of the Martian moon Phobos. In contrast to earlier numerical models, this paper details a dynamical model that fully considers the rotation of Phobos. Here, Phobos’ rotation is first described by Euler’s rotational equations and integrated simultaneously with the orbital motion equations. We discuss this dynamical model, along with the differences with respect to the model now in use. Aims. This work is aimed at updating the physical model embedded in the ephemerides of Martian moons, considering improvements offered by exploiting high-precision observations expected from future missions (e.g., Japanese Martian Moons exploration, MMX), which fully supports future studies of the Martian moons. Methods. The rotational motion of Phobos can be expressed by Euler’s rotational equations and integrated in parallel with the equations of the orbital motion of Phobos around Mars. In order to investigate the differences between the two models, we first reproduced and simulated the dynamical model that is now used in the ephemerides, but based on our own parameters. We then fit the model to the newest Phobos ephemeris published by Institut de Mécanique Céleste et de Calcul des Éphémérides (IMCCE). Based on our derived variational equations, the influence of the gravity field, the Love number, k2, and the rotation behavior were studied by fitting the full model to the simulated simple model. Our revised dynamic model for Phobos was constructed as a general method that can be extended with appropriate corrections (mainly rotation) to systems other than Phobos, such as the Saturn and Jupiter systems. Results. We present the variational equation for Phobos’ rotation employing the symbolic Maple computation software. The adjustment test simulations confirm the latitude libration of Phobos, suggesting gravity field coefficients obtained using a shape model and homogeneous density hypothesis should be re-examined in the future in the context of dynamics. Furthermore, the simulations with different k2 values indicate that it is difficult to determine k2 efficiently using the current data.

Exploring the general chemistry of the core and ocean of Enceladus

Measurements made by the Cassini spacecraft instruments were able to reveal the composition of the geysers of the Saturn moon, Enceladus, among which salts (sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and/ or sodium carbonate) and traces of silica could be the result of hydrothermal processes from the interaction of an inner liquid ocean with the core of Enceladus.The chemistry of the ocean should be closely connected to the chemistry of the core. Even though. the actual composition of the core is unknown, Enceladus has been characterised as a moon with a silicate core and different authors have estimated the properties of the ocean.A core with a silicate composition alone, does not necessarily justify most of the observed species of the plume. Given the many uncertainties, in the current work, we study the possible chemistry of the core and the ocean in the context of a four-layered Enceladus (dry core, hydrated core, ocean and crust) with three different compositional scenarios for the core: primordial (represented by an ordinary chondrite), composite (represented by a carbonaceous chondrite with an igneous inclusion) and non primordial (epresented by a given peridotite). The scenarios comprise a set of minerals that interact with a primordial ocean (either pure or enriched water) at a given temperature and pressure, producing a series of secondary minerals and compounds, some of them, coincident with the chemical species observed in the geysers. Specifically, we make a chemical speciation for each proposed compositional scenario with the software PhreeqC, however our analysis is limited to the study of interactions that reach a given equilibrium. In particular, output values like the potential of hydrogen of the ocean or the saturation indices of mineral products may give us hints about the chemistry of the ocean and the core. We find that, based on the species observed in the plume, the actual composition of the core (and the ocean as well) poses a somewhat wide range of possible compositional scenarios and each of our proposed scenarios and their products justify, to some extent, the observations of the plume.

Enceladus: Astrobiology Revisited

AbstractAstrobiology research seeks to understand how life begins and evolves, and to determine whether life exist elsewhere in the universe. The discovery of diverse ocean worlds has significantly expanded the number of planetary bodies in the Solar System that could potentially contain life. Of the recognized ocean worlds, Saturn's moon Enceladus stands out because it appears to meet all requirements to sustain life. For that reason, robotic mission concepts are being developed to determine whether Enceladus' ocean is inhabited. The theory of organic chemical evolution (OCE) represents an ideal framework to guide this exploration strategy, articulating investigations and associated measurements of organic matter in the subsurface ocean. Within this reference frame, the immediate priority with the lowest science risk would be to understand molecular and structural properties of bulk organic matter in the ocean, and search for metabolic precursors and biochemical building blocks, both free and bound. This could be supplemented with “high‐risk, high‐reward” searches for functional polymers, catalytic activity, and cell‐like objects with traits indicative of evolutionary adaptations. The theory of OCE provides a robust scientific foundation for the astrobiological exploration of ocean worlds, fostering a productive path to discovery with lower mission risk that could be implemented with existing technology. Strong synergies between astrobiology and Earth‐bound research could ensue from this exploration strategy particularly in the context of terrestrial analog studies and laboratory simulations.