Astronomers have uncovered the most compelling evidence to date of a vast, youthful ocean beneath the icy surface of Saturn’s mini-moon, resembling the Death Star.

Led by a French team, the researchers examined alterations in Mimas’ orbit and rotation.

They reported on Wednesday that a concealed ocean, situated 12 to 18 miles (20 to 30 kilometers) beneath the frozen shell, appeared more probable than an elongated rocky core.

The conclusions were drawn from observations made by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which diligently studied Saturn and its 140-plus moons for over a decade before concluding its mission by plunging through Saturn’s atmosphere in 2017 and disintegrating, the Associated Press reported.

Despite being only 250 miles (400 kilometers) in diameter, Mimas, with its heavily cratered surface, lacks the telltale signs of subsurface activity, such as fractures and geysers, which are typically observed on Saturn’s Enceladus and Jupiter’s Europa.

Results were published in the journal Nature.

Written by B.C. Begley