In an episode of animated series Futurama, Professor Farnsworth unveiled a contraption known as the ‘Smell-O-Scope’, which let users ‘smell’ distant stars and planets. Although billed as a fictional device, Nasa scientists claim to have developed a similar system and have used it capture the 'flavours' of Saturn’s moon Titan. By replicating Titan’s atmosphere in a lab, they were able to work out what Titan's atmosphere is made from, and the technique could be used to discover the composition of other worlds as well. Nasa scientists have recreated the 'scent' of Saturn's moon Titan (pictured in ultraviolet and infrared) by combining gases in a lab and letting them react. This helped to determine the identity of a material that had been detected in the atmosphere by the Cassini spacecraft, which is now thought to be benzene
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Nasa scientists in Maryland recreated the atmosphere of Saturn's Titan
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This helped them identify a mystery material detected on the moon
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Results suggest it is benzene - an aromatic compound found in gasoline
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The method has helped them discover what the atmosphere is made of
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And it could be used for other worlds inside, or beyond, our solar system
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Device is similar to the fictional 'Smell-O-Scope' from TV show Futurama
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