Fluid Flow In Ceres Due To Core Heating

A couple examples of molecules carrying chemical energy – carbon dioxide and methane – are included in the illustration.

Research published in Science Advances on Aug. 20, 2025 (Ceres May Have Had Long-Standing Energy to Fuel Habitability), relies on data from NASA’s Dawn mission to find that chemical energy inside Ceres may have lasted long enough to fuel microbial metabolisms.

Although there is no evidence that microorganisms ever existed on Ceres, the finding supports theories that this intriguing dwarf planet, which is the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may have once had conditions suitable to support single-celled lifeforms.

Core metamorphism controls the dynamic habitability of mid-sized ocean worlds—The case of Ceres, Science Advances (open access)

Astrobiology, Astrogeology, Astrochemistry,