Saturn's icy moon Mimas could be a 'hidden' oceanic world. This is indicated by a new study conducted by scientists, according to Space.. com.

Mimas is the smallest and closest to the planet of the main satellites of Saturn.. It is thought to generate enough heat to keep the subsurface ocean alive.. Modeling of the Herschel impact crater, the moon's most impressive feature, and the lack of tectonic activity on it confirmed the existence of a young inland ocean surrounded by a thin ice crust..

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However, Mimas has long been considered an ice block due to its cratered surface.. This was due to the fact that most oceanic worlds, such as Enceladus, have cracks or other signs of geological activity.. Mimas lacks tectonic features.

Modeling of the Herschel crater showed that at the time of the impact, the thickness of the ice shell of Mimas should have been at least 55 kilometers.. But observations of the satellite and modeling of its internal structure suggest that the thickness of this shell is less than 30 kilometers..

This indicates that the inland ocean has been warming and expanding since the formation of the crater..

Moreover, it was possible to recreate the shape of the crater only after being included in the ocean simulation.

“We found that Herschel could not form in an ice shell of modern thickness without destroying it at the impact site.. If Mimas has an ocean today, then the ice shell has been thinning since the formation of Herschel, which could also explain the absence of faults on Mimas,” said Adin Denton, lead author of the study and researcher at the University of Arizona..