---
title: "Scientists: Pluto May be Hiding Alien Life in Buried Oceans"
description: "A new study found that liquid-water subsurface oceans on Pluto are kept from freezing over thanks to an insulating layer of gas hydrates."
date: "2019-05-21"
modified: "2019-05-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/pluto-alien-life-hiding-buried-oceans"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "Dwarf Planet"
  - "extraterrestrial"
  - "Pluto"
  - "the digest"
---

# Scientists: Pluto May be Hiding Alien Life in Buried Oceans

![A new study found that liquid-water subsurface oceans on Pluto are kept from freezing over thanks to an insulating layer of gas hydrates.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/pluto-alien-life-subsurface-liquid-oceans.png>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Icy Dwarfs

Japanese scientists say that liquid-water subsurface oceans on [Pluto](<https://futurism.com/tags/pluto>) are kept from freezing over thanks to an insulating layer of gas hydrates — a discovery that could mean the distant dwarf planet and other inhospitable habitats could potentially harbor life.

"This could mean there are more oceans in the universe than previously thought, making the existence of extraterrestrial life more plausible," Shunichi Kamata, lead author from Hokkaido University, [said in a statement](<https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/hu-gic051719.php>).

## Subsurface Oceans

Conventional wisdom dictates that oceans found on dwarf planets like Pluto should've technically frozen long ago. But according to the team's computer simulations, which go back about 4.6 billion years — around the time of the formation of the solar system — these oceans would have no chance to ever freeze over.

The new study, [published](<https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/blog/gas-insulation-could-be-protecting-an-ocean-inside-pluto/>) in the journal *Nature Geoscience* this week, found that it would "only" take one million years to freeze over without an insulating gas layer — but more than one billion years with one.

On Pluto, such a subsurface ocean could still exist to this day thanks to methane and nitrogen gas found in Pluto's atmosphere. Other icy moons could also host such subsurface oceans as well.

**READ MORE:** [Pluto Has a Buried Ocean — And So Might Many Other Worlds](<https://www.space.com/pluto-buried-ocean-may-be-common.html>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on dwarf planets:** *[In 11 Years, Pluto’s Atmosphere Will Be Completely Frozen Solid](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/11-years-pluto-atmosphere-completely-frozen>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)