The harsh atmosphere of Saturn's largest moon Titan has been recreated in a laboratory in suburban Melbourne.

At about 1.2 billion kilometres away, Titan is an inhospitable place where cyanide rain falls from the skies and temperatures hover around minus 180 degrees - cold enough for gasses to freeze.

La Trobe University astrochemist Courtney Ennis said recreating the conditions on Titan wasn’t so different to cooking. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Using the most up-to-date data collected by NASA, La Trobe University space scientists have recreated the same conditions in a one-metre-long gas cylinder on an infrared beamline at the Australian Synchrotron in Clayton.

The ingredients needed to replicate the harsh environment of Saturn's largest moon had been identified by NASA's Cassini orbiter, which is nearing the end of a 17-year exploration of Saturn, its rings and moons.