Discoveries of extrasolar planets in the habitable zone ( HZ ) of their parent star lead to questions about the habitability of massive moons orbiting planets in the HZ . Around low-mass stars , the HZ is much closer to the star than for Sun-like stars . For a planet-moon binary in such a HZ , the proximity of the star forces a close orbit for the moon to remain gravitationally bound to the planet . Under these conditions the effects of tidal heating , distortion torques , and stellar perturbations become important considerations for exomoon habitability . Utilizing a model that considers both dynamical and tidal interactions simultaneously , we performed a computational investigation into exomoon evolution for systems in the HZ of low-mass stars ( \lesssim 0.6 M _ { \odot } ) . We show that dwarf stars with masses \lesssim 0.2 M _ { \odot } can not host habitable exomoons within the stellar HZ due to extreme tidal heating in the moon . Perturbations from a central star may continue to have deleterious effects in the HZ up to \approx 0.5 M _ { \odot } , depending on the host planet ’ s mass and its location in the HZ , amongst others . In addition to heating concerns , torques due to tidal and spin distortion can lead to the relatively rapid inward spiraling of a moon . Therefore , moons of giant planets in HZs around the most abundant type of star are unlikely to have habitable surfaces . In cases with lower intensity tidal heating the stellar perturbations may have a positive influence on exomoon habitability by promoting long-term heating and possibly extending the HZ for exomoons .