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#REDIRECT [[Space colonization#Moons_of_outer_planets]]
{{Short description|Proposed establishment of permanent human communities in the outer Solar System}}
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{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
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{{Original research|date=January 2009}}
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{{Space colonization}}

Many parts of the outer [[Solar System]] have been considered for possible future colonization. Most of the larger moons of the outer planets contain [[Ice|water ice]], [[liquid water]], and [[organic compound]]s that might be useful for sustaining human life.<ref name="icemoons">G.J. Consalmagno, ''Ice-rich moons and the physical properties of ice'', Journal of Physical Chemistry, vol. 87, no. 21, 1983, p. 4204-4208.</ref><ref name="liftveil">Ralph Lorenz and [[Jacqueline Mitton]], ''Lifting Titan's veil: exploring the giant moon of Saturn'', Cambridge University Press, 2002</ref>

Colonies in the outer Solar System could also serve as centers for long-term investigation of the planet and the other moons. In particular, [[robot|robotic devices]] could be controlled by humans without the very long time delays incurred in communicating with [[Earth]].

There have also been proposals to place robotic [[aerostat]]s in the upper atmospheres of the Solar System's [[gas giant]] planets for exploration and possibly mining of [[helium-3]], which could have a very high value per unit mass as a thermonuclear fuel.<ref name="zoob2sop">Robert Zubrin, ''Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization'', section: Settling the Outer Solar System: The Sources of Power, pp. 158-160, Tarcher/Putnam, 1999, {{ISBN|1-58542-036-0}}</ref><ref name="He3U">Jeffrey Van Cleve (Cornell University) et al., [http://www.mines.edu/research/srr/2001abstracts/vancleve.PDF "Helium-3 Mining Aerostats in the Atmosphere of Uranus"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060630164712/http://www.mines.edu/research/srr/2001abstracts/vancleve.PDF |date=June 30, 2006 }}, Abstract for Space Resources Roundtable, accessed May 10, 2006</ref>

==The Jovian System==
{{Main|Exploration of Jupiter#Potential for colonization}}
<!-- The section linked above is actually about colonization of the Jupiter system, rather
than Jupiter itself, which is not considered a candidate for colonization because it has no solid surface -->
<div style="float:right; margin:2px;">
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center; font-size:11px"
|+ Jovian radiation
! Moon !! [[Röntgen equivalent man|rem]]/day
|-
| Io || 3600<ref>{{cite web |url=http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/w08a.jup.txt |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2009-09-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5jwBSgPuV?url=http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/w08a.jup.txt |archivedate=2009-09-20 }}</ref>
|-
| Europa || 540<ref name="ringwald"/>
|-
|Ganymede || 8<ref name="ringwald">{{cite web
|date=29 February 2000
|title=SPS 1020 (Introduction to Space Sciences)
|publisher=California State University, Fresno
|author=Frederick A. Ringwald
|url=http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/w08a.jup.txt
|accessdate=2009-09-20
|url-status=dead
|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5jwBSgPuV?url=http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~fringwal/w08a.jup.txt
|archivedate=20 September 2009
}}</ref>
|-
| Callisto || 0.01<ref name="ringwald"/>
|}</div>

The [[Jupiter|Jovian]] system in general has particular disadvantages for colonization, including its [[Magnetosphere of Jupiter|severe radiation environment]]<ref name="radjup">R. Walker Fillius, Carl E. McIlwain, and Antonio Mogro-Campero, ''Radiation Belts of Jupiter: A Second Look'', Science, Vol. 188. no. 4187, pp. 465–467, 2 May 1975</ref> and its particularly deep [[gravity well]]. Its radiation would deliver about 3,600 [[Radiation poisoning#Table of exposure levels and symptoms|rems]] per day to unshielded colonists on [[Io (moon)|Io]] and about 540 rems per day to unshielded colonists on [[Europa (moon)|Europa]]. Exposure to about 75 rems over a few days is enough to cause radiation poisoning, and about 500&nbsp;rems over a few days is fatal.<ref name="zoob2jvn">Robert Zubrin, ''Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization'', section: Colonizing the Jovian System, pp. 166-170, Tarcher/Putnam, 1999, {{ISBN|1-58542-036-0}}</ref>

Jupiter itself, like the other gas giants, is not generally considered a good candidate for colonization.<ref>http://www.spacecolonization.xyz/colonization-of-jupiter/</ref> There is no accessible surface on which to land, and the light hydrogen atmosphere would not provide good buoyancy for some kind of aerial habitat as has been proposed for Venus.

===Io===
[[Io (moon)|Io]] is not ideal for colonization, due to its hostile environment. The moon is under influence of high tidal forces, causing high volcanic activity on the moon. Jupiter's strong radiation belt overshadows Io, delivering 3,600 rem a day to the moon. The moon is also extremely dry. Io is the least ideal place for colonization of the four Galilean moons.
Despite this, its volcanoes could be energy resources for the other moons, better to colonize.

===Europa===
{{Main|Colonization of Europa}}
[[File:Currents in Jovian Magnetosphere.png|thumb|right|300px|The magnetic field of Jupiter and co&ndash;rotation enforcing currents]]
The [[Artemis Project]] proposed a plan to colonize [[Europa (moon)|Europa]].<ref>[http://www.asi.org/ Artemis Society International] official website</ref><ref>Peter Kokh et al., "[http://asi.org/adb/06/09/03/02/110/europa2-wkshp.html Europa II Workshop Report]", ''Moon Miner's Manifesto'' #110, Nov. 1997</ref> Scientists would inhabit igloos and drill down into the Europan ice crust, exploring any subsurface ocean. The report also discusses use of air pockets for human habitation.

===Ganymede===
[[Ganymede (moon)|Ganymede]] is the largest moon in the Solar System. Ganymede is the only moon with a [[magnetosphere]], but it is overshadowed by [[Magnetosphere of Jupiter|Jupiter's magnetic field]]. Ganymede receives about 8 [[Röntgen equivalent man|rem]] of radiation per day.<ref name="ringwald"/>

===Callisto===
Due to its distance from Jupiter's powerful radiation belt, Callisto is subject to only 0.01&nbsp;rem a day.<ref name="ringwald"/> When [[NASA]] carried out a study called ''HOPE'' (Revolutionary Concepts for '''H'''uman '''O'''uter '''P'''lanet '''E'''xploration) regarding the future exploration of the Solar System,<ref>Patrick A. Troutman (NASA Langley Research Center) et al., [http://rasc.larc.nasa.gov/rasc_new/hope/Documents/HOPE_Paper.doc Revolutionary Concepts for Human Outer Planet Exploration (HOPE)]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, accessed May 10, 2006 (.doc format)</ref> the target chosen was [[Callisto (moon)|Callisto]]. It might be possible to build a surface base that would produce fuel for further exploration of the Solar System.

===Jupiter trojans===
The [[Keck Observatory]] announced in 2006 that the binary [[Jupiter trojan]] [[617 Patroclus]], and possibly many other Jupiter trojans, are likely composed of water ice, with a layer of dust. This suggests that mining water and other volatiles in this region and transporting them elsewhere in the Solar System, perhaps via the proposed [[Interplanetary Transport Network]], may be feasible in the not-so-distant future. This could make [[colonization of the Moon]], [[Colonization of Mercury|Mercury]] and main-belt [[Colonization of the asteroids|asteroids]] more practical.

==The Saturnian System==
[[Robert Zubrin]] identified [[Saturn]], [[Uranus]] and [[Neptune]] as "the [[Persian Gulf]] of the Solar System", as the largest sources of [[deuterium]] and helium-3 to drive a [[nuclear fusion|fusion]] economy, with Saturn the most important and most valuable of the three, because of its relative proximity, low radiation, and excellent{{clarify|date=June 2017}} system of moons.<ref name="zoob2pgs">Robert Zubrin, ''Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization'', section: The Persian Gulf of the Solar System, pp. 161-163, Tarcher/Putnam, 1999, {{ISBN|1-58542-036-0}}</ref>

===Titan===
{{main|Colonization of Titan}} <!-- This may be the one Colonization article that is merged, into this article. See discussion. -->

Zubrin identified [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] as possessing an abundance of all the elements necessary to support life, making Titan perhaps the most advantageous locale in the outer Solar System for colonization. He said, "In certain ways, Titan is the most hospitable extraterrestrial world within the Solar System for human colonization."<ref name="zoob2ttn">Robert Zubrin, ''Entering Space: Creating a Spacefaring Civilization'', section: Titan, pp. 163-166, Tarcher/Putnam, 1999, {{ISBN|1-58542-036-0}}</ref> A widely published expert on [[terraforming]], [[Christopher McKay (planetary scientist)|Christopher McKay]], is also a co-investigator on the [[Huygens probe|''Huygens'' probe]] that landed on Titan in January 2005.

The surface of Titan is mostly uncratered and thus inferred to be very young and active, and probably composed of mostly water ice, and lakes of liquid hydrocarbons (methane/ethane) in its polar regions. While the temperature is cryogenic (95 K) it should be able to support a base, but more information regarding Titan's surface and the activities on it is necessary. The thick atmosphere and the weather, such as potential flash floods, are also factors to consider.

===Enceladus===
On March 9, 2006, [[NASA]]'s ''[[Cassini–Huygens|Cassini]]'' space probe found possible evidence of liquid water on [[Enceladus (moon)|Enceladus]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/media/cassini-20060309.html |title=NASA's Cassini Discovers Potential Liquid Water on Enceladus |publisher=[[Nasa.gov]] |date=2007-11-22 |accessdate=2011-08-20}}</ref> According to that article, "pockets of liquid water may be no more than tens of meters below the surface." These findings were confirmed in 2014 by NASA. This means liquid water could be collected much more easily and safely on Enceladus than, for instance, on Europa (see above). Discovery of water, especially liquid water, generally makes a celestial body a much more likely candidate for colonization. An alternative model of Enceladus' activity is the decomposition of methane/water [[clathrate]]s – a process requiring lower temperatures than liquid water eruptions. The higher density of Enceladus indicates a larger than Saturnian average silicate core that could provide materials for base operations.

==Uranus==
Because [[Uranus]] has the lowest [[escape velocity]] of the four gas giants, it has been proposed as a mining site for [[helium-3]].<ref name="He3U"/> If human supervision of the robotic activity proved necessary, one of [[Uranus's natural satellites]] might serve as a base.

==Neptune==
It is hypothesized that one of [[Neptune]]'s satellites could be used for colonization. [[Triton (moon)|Triton]]'s surface shows signs of extensive geological activity that implies a subsurface ocean, perhaps composed of ammonia/water.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ruiz |first=Javier| year=2003| title=Heat flow and depth to a possible internal ocean on Triton| journal=Icarus| volume=166| doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2003.09.009| page=436| bibcode=2003Icar..166..436R|issue=2|url=http://eprints.ucm.es/10454/1/11-Trit%C3%B3n_1.pdf}}</ref> If technology advanced to the point that tapping such geothermal energy was possible, it could make colonizing a cryogenic world like Triton feasible, supplemented by [[nuclear fusion]] power.

==Kuiper belt and Oort cloud==
{{see also|Colonization of trans-Neptunian objects}}

The noted [[physicist]] [[Freeman Dyson]] identified [[comet]]s, rather than [[planet]]s, as the major potential ''habitat'' of life in space.<ref>Freeman Dyson, "The World, the Flesh, and the Devil", Third J.D. Bernal Lecture, May 1972, reprinted in ''Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence'', [[Carl Sagan]], ed., MIT Press, 1973, {{ISBN|0-262-69037-3}}</ref>

==Difficulties==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2017}}
There would be many problems in colonizing the outer Solar System. These include:
*Distance from [[Earth]]: The outer planets are much farther from Earth than the inner planets, and would therefore be harder and more time-consuming to reach. In addition, return voyages may well be prohibitive considering the time and distance.
*Extreme cold: temperatures are near [[absolute zero]] in many parts of the outer Solar System.
*Power: [[Solar power]] is many times less concentrated in the outer Solar System than in the inner Solar System. It is unclear as to whether it would be usable there, using some form of concentration mirrors, or whether [[nuclear power]] would be necessary. There have also been proposals to use the gravitational potential energy of planets or dwarf planets with moons.
*[[Effect of spaceflight on the_human body#Weightlessness|Effects of low gravity on the human body]]: All moons of the gas giants and all outer dwarf planets have a very low gravity, the highest being [[Io (moon)|Io's]] gravity (0.183 g) which is less than 1/5 of the Earth's gravity. Since every space agency preferred to circulate in [[Low Earth orbit]] for more than 40 years rather than sending people to the Earth's Moon for several months to test the effects of such low gravitational accelerations on the human body we can only speculate that the low gravity environments might have very similar effects to long-term exposure in [[weightlessness]]. Such effects can be avoided by [[Artificial gravity#Centripetal|rotating spacecraft creating artificial gravity]].

==See also==
*[[Space colonization]]
*[[Floating city (science fiction)|Floating cities]]
*[[Solar System in fiction]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Use American English|date=January 2014}}

[[Category:Space colonization|Outer Solar System]]
[[Category:Outer planets]]
[[Category:Trans-Neptunian region]]

Latest revision as of 20:50, 19 April 2024

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