Nitrogen Powered Rockets (For Titan, Triton And Pluto?)

(Image: A prototype of the Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster. Credit: Donna Coveney / MIT)

Out "in the black" where the suns rays are much dimmer, future explorers will have to come up with innovative ways to travel to and from the gas giants, dwarf planets and the various moons that dance around their parent worlds.

While solar sails, magnetic sails and nuclear rockets could provide some measure of transport, they will probably be too expensive for the average star ship.

Since mining hydrogen directly from gas giants is suicidal due to their deep gravity wells and very fierce winds (with the only exception being Uranus), colonists beyond Jupiter may look towards nitrogen to solve their space transport needs.

(Space Travel) Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers say their new rocket -- called the Mini-Helicon Plasma Thruster -- is much smaller than other rockets of its kind and could consume just one-tenth the fuel used by conventional systems. [...]

The scientists said the Mini-Helicon is the first rocket to run on nitrogen, the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere. Batishchev noted, however, it could be years before the technology can be used commercially.

While this technology will have some value on our home world, these nitrogen powered rockets may prove invaluable to worlds like Titan, Triton and Pluto who seem to be blessed with an abundance of nitrogen, respectively.

If future settlers could find ways to harvest this element from these worlds, then humanity may discover a means to travel not only throughout the outer planets, but perhaps beyond the Kuiper belt as well.

More Radiation Safe Worlds (Around Saturn)

(Image: Saturn's radiation belts, Credit: NASA / JPL / APL)

Despite the fact that planetary magnetic fields provide shelter against deadly solar radiation, they are also accompanied with radiation belts, an item some would consider a mixed blessing.



While Earth, Callisto and Titan comprise the three major radiation safe worlds (at least when it comes to raising kids), two other icy worlds--Dione and Rhea--join the list as they orbit beyond Saturn's radiation belts (and within its magnetic field).

















Hopefully as technology improves (especially when it comes to building radiation resistant habitats), Saturn's other icy worlds will be safe enough for future colonists to establish outposts upon--without the fear of contracting cancer due to radiation exposure.



Although most of Saturn's residents will probably raise their kids upon Titan (because of its higher gravity), Dione and Rhea will probably attract a significant population due to its access to view the stars above (not to mention Saturn as well).



Update (7/21): Fixed excel sheet embedding code.

Saturn: Titan Colonists May Loathe The Moon's Sand

(Hat Tip: The Space Fellowship, Image Credit: NASA)

Located approximately 1.5 billion kilometers away from the Sun, Saturn's Titan may prove to be one of the more interesting worlds to live upon in our solar system.

While it would not be surprising to see cites constructed upon the moon due to its methane lakes, future colonists may find its sand to be "slightly irritating."

(NASA) On Earth, sand grains form by breaking things down, but on Titan, the opposite may be true - with much of the sand a product of building things up.

That's one theory Cassini scientists are considering after studying Titan's massive sand dunes with the visible and infrared mapping spectrometer on the Cassini Saturn orbiter. The new observations raise the possibility that much of the sand grows from hydrocarbon particulates fallen from the sky that, once on the ground, join together and become sand grain-size particles. [...]

In the May 2008 issue of the journal Icarus Cassini scientists report that dunes contain less water ice than the rest of Titan. The dark brown sands appear to be made up of the same kind of complex organic chemicals that dominate Titan's smoggy atmosphere. If the dunes are made up of the same dark material on the inside as they have on the outside, then there's simply too much organic sand to have come from erosion alone.

The new findings may help explain how, once on the ground, hydrocarbon particulates the size of smoke particles might grow into sand grains through a process called "sintering" - a slight melting that welds particles together. It may be that sintering produces particles that are just the right size for sand grains - between 0.18-0.25 millimeters and no larger, perfect for blowing in the wind and drifting into dunes.

If humanity desires to ever live upon this world, they may have to find a way to counteract this sintering effect, as the last thing colonists need is to have these particles building up upon future spaceports, buildings and homes (not to mention rocket ships).

Saturn's Titan: A GPS Nightmare

(Image Credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona)

When camping outside in an unfamiliar wilderness, two essential tools one needs to consider packing are a map, and a compass. While the former is wise so one knows the overall layout of an area, the latter can help you determine which direction the final destination lies.

Aside from Mercury, Earth and Ganymede, most worlds lack a global magnetic field, which means future colonists will have to rely upon a mini GPS system in order to navigate off world.

While a GPS system may sound like a "no brainer" solution for most worlds orbiting our Sol star, it may present a problem for Saturn's methane moon, Titan.

(Planetary News) Since the acquisition of the first SAR swath across Titan in October, 2005, there have been 19 regions on Titan that have been imaged more than once by the RADAR instrument. When the RADAR team assumed that Titan's rotation was synchronous -- that is, that it rotates precisely once with each orbit around Saturn -- features seen during one flyby were observably offset when imaged during another flyby, by as much as 30 kilometers (19 miles). [...]

The measured offset of the surface features, relative to the prediction for synchronous rotation, means that, over the time period measured in the Cassini data (October 2005 to May 2007), Titan's surface was shifting by 0.36 degrees per year. For there to be this rapid of a shift in the position of Titan's surface requires the surface to be able to move freely about the rest of the moon, sliding around atop a liquid interior ocean.

Believe it (or not), Titan's surface is actually being shifted by the moon's winds, which may affect how fast the world spins, not to mention which side faces Saturn.

If humanity ever settles upon that cloaked moon, they are going to have to figure out a way to pin point positions accurately, lest ships miss drop supplies (and colonists) all over Titan's hazy surface.

Aquarium Homes For Mars (And Other Radiation Worlds)

(Article inspired by Clark Lindsey of Hobby Space)

Imagine waking up every morning, excited by the mere fact that you are living a hundred million miles away from your home planet, Earth. You slowly ease out of bed, being very careful not to jump too high lest you bump your head against the ceiling (a minor setback of living within reduced gravity).

After briefly enjoying a few hops in a third of your weight, you slip on your gravity suit (due to doctors orders), feed the pigs and dream about someday actually seeing a Martian sunrise from your underground outpost, instead of going above ground at night due to radiation.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the awe inspiring red planet.

Despite the fact that this potential reality may not look too exciting, it is one many governments on Earth would be content with, as they would rather have their astronauts bored to death than "microwaved" via solar radiation.

While some may argue that anti-radiation drugs and portable magnetic shields would allow us to roam the red planet at will (as well as any other radiation safe world), both of these items may increase the overall cost of solar outposts, which may encourage tax payers to grumble about the price tag.

Instead of reducing astronauts into future cave dwellers, why not enclose these future space homes within thick layers of glass and liquid water?

Of the many materials used to protect humans from radiation exposure, lead, aluminum and water are probably the "easiest ways" shield our fragile bodies from the wrath of the Universe.

Even though most colonists would probably prefer a "wall of lead" (or even aluminum) around them, launching the material from Earth (or mining via the asteroid belt) may prove to be very costly, especially when one adds taxes to the final bill.

Water ice on the other hand seems to have placed its finger prints on every solar world save four (Mercury, Venus, Luna aka Earth's moon and Io) and would provide a far cheaper means of securing our foothold upon these semi-hostile worlds.

Although using water as a cheaper alternative may sound reasonable to some people, using glass may not. After all, would it not be easier to simply use thick, translucent plastics instead of heavy glass?

While plastic does have its advantages over its older friend, it may be easier to create glass off world, mainly due to the fact that silica, one of the main ingredients of of sand (or quartz if you live on Earth) can be used to "easily" create glass on other worlds.

On Mars silica is present within the soil, while on other worlds such as Callisto, and Ganymede, silicon is contained within the crust, respectively. This may be true of the other worlds orbiting Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, although NASA will have to confirm this with future probes (and hopefully rovers).

While water and glass may help provide an inexpensive way of shielding colonists from harmful rays, scientists could also grow radiation eating fungi within the watery walls. This would provide further protection, especially if a lunar colony operates within its host planet's radiation belt.

Even though it would probably be wise for off world settlers to also carry portable magnetic fields and anti-radiation drugs with them, they would only have to seriously consider using them if they were going to travel well outside the protection of their base, or if they received warning of an impending solar storm.

Aquarium homes may not be the "end all" solution for us dwelling in the heavens, but they could allow humans to actually raise their kids upon the surface of other worlds (beholding their beauty), instead of below it.

NASA To Starve Mars, Feed Outer Planet Missions

(Hat Tip: Space Pragmatism)

After having successfully launched (and landed) two rovers on Mars, with a third on the way, NASA is readjusting priorities and focusing on the outer gas planets.

(Red Orbit) However, Griffin referred to a recent evaluation from the US National Research Council which gave NASA an "A" for its ventures to Mars, while it received a "D" for outer planets and a "C" for research and analysis.

He announced that a major robotic mission to the outer planets was in the works. "We've rebalanced our planetary science portfolio accordingly," Dr Griffin told the conference.

"As I discussed elsewhere, we've learned more, and had more questions to answer, about the many other planets and moons in our Solar System.

"So after Mars Science Lab - the current planetary sciences flagship - we are now planning in earnest for an outer planets flagship to Europa, Titan or Ganymede."

Even though news like this will not make the Mars Society very happy, NASA's new direction will probably help out Jovian scientists who have been patiently waiting to launch their own probes (and perhaps rovers) to the outer planets.

While Europa and Io are too radioactive for human settlement, Jupiter's other siblings (Ganymede and Callisto) may hold much promise for our future species, along with Saturn's Titan (which may rival Earth in beauty).

Could Hydrogen Fuel Replace Solar Power?

(Hat tip: IsraGood, Image Credit: Jerusalem Post)

With the supply of nuclear fuel limited (especially for Americans), future space colonies will probably need to look towards the Sun as their source of energy.

While this may benefit colonies located within the inner solar system, beyond the asteroid belt solar power is practically useless.

In order to get around their energy dilemma's, future colonists may have to rely upon hydrogen fuel in order to keep the lights on.

(Israel 21^st Century) Most hydrogen vehicles on the road use a liquid form of the material, which requires a super strong and super heavy storage tank. Liquid hydrogen is unstable and needs to be insulated from the excess shocks of bumps and potholes that are a part of everyday driving, so the tanks themselves are large and heavy, and hold at most 20 liters of fuel - enough for barely 250 kilometers of driving. [...]

The difference? C.En's tank uses hydrogen gas, collected from the environment (i.e. not produced from fossil fuels) and enclosed in a thin but leak proof glass container. The best part: You'll be able to buy your "gas" at automotive or discount stores, fueling up every 600 kilometers or so.

"We can build a 60-liter tank that can travel up to 600 km. and weighs no more than 50 kg.," Stern said, unlike tanks currently used for liquid hydrogen that weigh hundreds of kilos.

"Our company's breakthrough is in accumulating hydrogen in a glass material that is very small, only a few microns," said Stern, who is also president of waste treatment company Environmental Energy Resources (EER).["]

If humanity ever decides to settle upon Ganymede and Callisto, future residents could simply extract the hydrogen from the ice water and power their homes without having to haul around a nuclear reactor.

Other icy moons around Saturn, Uranus and Neptune would also be able to benefit from this, as would help cut down the cost of maintaining these outposts (which may convince Earthen governments of their value in supporting them in the first place).

Radiation Safe Worlds

Of the 83 colony worlds that dance and prance around our golden star, only six worlds (excluding our home planet) hold the potential of being future homes, nine if you include Mercury, Pluto and Charon.

Despite the fact that future technology could eventually open up all of these worlds for human habitation, only a few of them may attract "the masses" after the first person sets foot upon their dusty soil due to the "evil R word"--radiation.

Contrary to the various rumors, taking heavy doses of radiation does not turn one into the Hulk, one of the members of the Fantastic Four or Spider Man via a radioactive spider bite.

Radiation, whether cosmic or solar has the potential of seriously roasting you alive, if not turning one into a vegetable.

Even though humans can tolerate "various degrees" of radiation, our bodies seem to be quite content with the level of background radiation our species receives on planet Earth, which is about 0.35 REM's (aka Roentgen Equivalent Man) a year.

Higher doses of radiation can prove to be fatal towards future colonies, and some researchers do not recommend levels above 50 REM within a year or 25 REM during a 30 day period as it can lead towards some serious side affects (as highlighted in the chart below).

While radiation can be countered by using water, lead and aluminum, parents may be hesitant to breed upon foreign planets and moons (let alone raise kids upon them) if it will result in their children acquiring serious birth defects.

In order to determine which worlds are "family friendly," one only has to look at how much radiation a world receives to determine whether or not it is suitable for large populations or should be left alone for industrial space companies.

Starting out with Mars, one often dreams about metropolises dotting the surface of that crimson sphere. While Mars may hold much promise for future colonies, its annual dose of 15-20 REM may give some settlers second thoughts.

While future Martians may be able to combat the threat of radiation by building cities within its lumpy magnetic field, the red planet as a whole may not spawn dense cities until a globe sized artificial magnetic field can be constructed.

Moving outward to the Jovian system future space settlers may find more fortune living on Jupiter's moon Callisto. Orbiting just outside of its angry parents radiation belt, Callisto receives approximately 0.01 REM a day (or about 3.65 REM a year).

Coupled with its prime location in the outer solar system, Callisto may outpace its Martian rivals population wise, and may be second only to Earth as far as future inhabitants go.

Unfortunately Jupiter's other lunar daughters do not fare as well as Callisto, with all three of these worlds (Ganymede, Europe, Io) bathed in Jupiter's harsh radiation belt, putting them at a disadvantage compared to their much colder, "uglier" sister.





Traveling further outward towards Saturn, one may find it strange that humans may call the smog world of Titan home sweet home. While its surface may be hidden from the human eye, its atmosphere may be thick enough to protect residents from both solar rays as well as Saturn's radiation belts.

Even though there are other worlds such as Luna (aka Earth's moon), Ceres, and even Ganymede that may eventually be civilized by our ever growing race, these worlds may not conquered right away due to the "invisible killer" lurking in the shadows.

While it would not be surprising to see scientists and industrial corporations setting up shop on these hostile worlds, the bulk of humanity may choose to remain on these radiation safe worlds until over population forces them to conquer these overlooked spheres roaming silently among the stars.

Which Worlds Should Humanity Skip?

With our species blessed with 83 worlds that orbit our home star, why would we choose to settle some and skip the rest? After all, would it not be in humanities best interest to spread our glory over every celestial moon, planet and dwarf planet?

While covering every centimeter of every orbiting sphere may sound glorious, it may not be practical (or even desired) by our future descendants. Just as the human race chooses to (mainly) live within fertile valley's and hills over deserts and mountains, so to our children may opt to skip worlds with "too much hassle" involved in settling them.

A prime example of this would be Mercury. Although humanity may posses the capability of colonizing this sphere, its close orbit towards the Sun may make it uninhabitable, at least during the day time (thanks to solar radiation).

Even though Mercury may contain many precious metals beneath its baked crust, it will probably never boast large metropolis's upon its surface, unless Earth decides to turn it into a planetary penal colony.

Moving outward to Venus, one could easily realize why humanity would never ever want to set foot on the planet, let alone through its thick atmosphere. The atmospheric pressure on Venus is about 90 times that of Earth, strong enough to crush a human unprotected.

Hosting sulfuric acid within its upper clouds, Venus may be more valuable as an interplanetary garbage dump than a viable colony (even for science).

Over in the Jovian system, Jupiter's moon Io shares a similar fate to Venus. Although lacking an atmosphere, Io does house numerous volcanoes upon its surface, some of which spew hot sulfur hundreds of kilometers from its surface.

Even if scientists were able to withstand the deadly radiation that engulfs this world, they would probably not enjoy swimming in one of Io's numerous lava lakes.

Despite the fact that Io's lunar sister is known to harbor an abundance of water ice, Europa may only gather a mournful glance from a few scientists observing from Ganymede. Even though many scientists suspect that Europa may have oceans beneath its surface, the world is jealously guarded by its father Jupiter, who bathes its lunar daughter in deadly radiation.

While some have suggested digging a hole beneath the icy surface, doing so may only guarantee ones fate within the icy walls, as Europa has a fairly active surface, which could result in one getting crushed by its icy "tectonic plates."

When it comes to radiation, Saturn's ring worlds do not seem to fare any better than Europa. While the icy moons of Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, and Rhea may find their surfaces scoured by robots (in search of water ice), these lunar bodies unfortunately orbit within Saturn's radiation belts.

Even though engineers will probably find a way to shield themselves with artificial magnetic fields (or even create enormous planetary versions), the added cost of doing so may make living on these worlds too expensive for the "average space colonist."

The moons of Uranus and Neptune who dance around their green and blue parents, respectively may share a similar fate to their Saturian cousins.

Although its quite possible that these moons may eventually be settled by humanity, they may find themselves harboring space pirates (to the delight of solar governments everywhere) as their distance from Earth and lack of nearby resources may make them unattractive for the masses.

Heading out towards the Kuiper belt, one wonders whether humanity will have the attention span of settling any of these frozen objects at the edge of our solar system.

Although colonizing both Pluto and Charon could provide a few engineering delights, one wonders if humanity may simply decide to ignore these historical relics as they head out to other promising star systems.

Which Worlds Should We Colonize First?

Our race is indeed blessed to inhabit a fertile world that orbits our favorite star, Sol. With 83 colony worlds dancing around our yellow sun, one can only imagine all the possibilities of our brave race inhabiting them all.

Of course, reality has a way of correcting our fantasies, and just as humanity refuses to dwell near or upon certain mountains, canyons and islands, so our young species may opt to skip over certain worlds in order to inhabit others.

So which worlds hold the promise of housing tomorrows children?

The first (and probably most obvious) world earth's kids may call home is the moon (aka Luna). The moon will be humanities first stepping stone way from Earth, and will most like jump start our journey into space, as its soil may contain valuable resources that can pay for all the fancy equipment needed to survive off world.

Skipping Earth's nearest neighbor would probably be disastrous, as our sensitive public is barely able to handle any "boo boo's" that happen in the solar abyss, much less a fatality. If terraforming ever became a reality, the moon would be a prime candidate for another Earth, as it already inhabits the "Goldilocks zone."

Journeying outward, our dusty neighbor Mars would come into play. Despite lacking resources of its own to attract businesses upon its crimson soil, Mars does hold an abundance of water which would make a human settlement somewhat possible upon its rusty surface.

(Video: A visual of what Mars would look like if a large portion of its ice water melted and flooded the planet. Credit: NASA)

Mars is also conveniently located near the asteroid belt, which could help turn this barren world into an industrial paradise. Although other worlds (such as Earth) could always mine the asteroid belt with their own ships, it may be easier (and cheaper) to outsource that task to the Martians, the way many American business outsource their "sneaker and jacket making" to China.

Expanding further throughout the solar system, dwarf world Ceres would come into play. Thought to hold an abundance of water beneath its surface, Ceres could easily serve as a way station, supplying crews with water and fuel in the middle of the asteroid belt.

Entering the realm of the Jovian giant Jupiter, humanity would probably end up settling on Callisto. Not only does this heavily cratered moon harbor life necessities (such as CO₂ and water), but it could also serve as a gateway towards the other gas giants.

Although Callisto may play a crucial role in our quest to colonize our star system, its bigger brother Ganymede may end up becoming the Jovian favorite, and perhaps even the prime world of the gas giants.

Entering our last stop would be Saturn's Titan, a world believed to contain multitude of methane lakes. Although Titan's methane weather cycle may be worth billions, its unique environment may become the attraction of the solar system, as its air pressure may make life very interesting for sports enthusiasts, artists and even musicians.

Of all the worlds that orbit our star system, these six worlds will probably be illuminated by the lights of future cities upon its surface.

But what about the other 76 worlds that grace our star system? Are not they worthy of being called home by future residents?

Unfortunately many of these other worlds will probably not be settled due to various reasons (at least voluntarily), although you will have to wait until next week to find out why most of these worlds will probably be skipped by our human race in our quest to colonize the stars.

Note: Due to lack of time images (and video) will be added later.

Update: Added video and images, as well as broke up last paragraph.

Would You Want To Live On Saturn's Titan?

Of all the worlds that have danced around the Sol star, none of them have, or will ever rival our home world Earth. Unparalleled in beauty, the view from a thousand miles away is enough to take one's heart away.

With a world requiring little, if any technology for human habitation, why would any one consider moving towards a moon shrouded in clouds that is over a billion kilometers from the Sun?

Unlike many of the lunar and planetary spheres that float around our Sun star, Saturn's Titan is blessed with an atmosphere that allows humans to walk upon its presence without the need of a standard vacuum suit.

Although early pioneers will need to be well equipped with a "warm suit," such technology may be easier to construct than clothing oneself with material that can withstand zero atmosphere.

Titan's atmosphere is approximately 1.5 times that of Earth. Although the denser air pressure may make walking on Titan feel as if you were at the bottom of a swimming pool, the "heavy" air does have some advantages.

Residents upon this orange world would easily be able to transport themselves around the planet with a pair of "artificial wings," something that would make Leonardo De Vinci proud to hear. This could lead towards Titan being crowned as the solar capital for air sports (such as sky diving, surfing, etc.) and might even lead towards a futuristic "aerial Olympics."

Despite the fact that Titan's clouds block out most (if not all) of the sky, those gifted in the arts may also find Titan's "burnt orange" horizon a welcoming backdrop compared to the pinkish sky on Mars or the blue sky on Earth. Astronomers aside, living within the orange skyline may become a solar attraction, setting the world apart from rivals within the star system.

But if residents are not attracted by either the view of living on a foreign moon or the aerial sports, they will be inspired by the tunes created by the musicians living there. With Titan's denser atmosphere, residents will be able to enjoy a richer symphony of music that will rival--if not surpass--the sounds heard on Earth (provided they can create and play them in the frigid temperatures).

(Video: What music would sound like on Earth, Titan, and Venus. Credits: Edward Willett)

Despite the fact that it will be Titan's methane lakes and scattered ice rocks that will finance and enable future inhabitants upon Saturn's favorite moon, respectively, its artistic beauty and unique environment may keep the masses from moving off world.

Artificial Magnetic Fields For Artifical Worlds

(Image Credit: NASA)

Aside from war and disease, the biggest threat to our (future) space faring species is radiation. Whether it comes from the Sun, a Jovian parent, or from a distant black hole, radiation can easily determine which worlds will be ruled by humans and which ones will be roamed by our robotic friends.

Although many may point to underground colonies as a means to survive on these sterile worlds, such an idea may not attract the masses (as living underground does not provide a glamorous view of the universe). Worse, underground colonies may have a counter affect on us colonizing our solar system, with the vast majority of people opting to live on the home world than off world.

But what if we could construct gigantic magnetic devices enabling a planet or moon to be shielded by a magnetic field? Such a device would enable our species to not only colonize Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's E-ring moons (which are too radioactive for surface habitation, respectively) but also enable various plants and animals to thrive on the red planet.

Without such a device our species would be limited to colonizing Jupiter's moons Ganymede and Callisto, not to mention Saturn's Titan. Although radiation on Mars may be tolerable, it would probably not be the ideal place to terraform as any ecosystems exported there may suffer from the wrath of a solar flare.

Despite the fact that this technology would be centuries away, it may be reasonable to explore current ways of developing artificial magnetic fields, as it would enable us to not only conquer our own solar system, but those that orbit other stars.

(Image Credit: Windows to the Universe)

Titan's Weather Could Be Worth Billions

Saturn's most mysterious moon may have a weather system that is potentially worth billions of dollars! Many scientists suspect that Titan's clouds may rain down methane from on high, which would probably explain the existence of those methane lakes that dot the northern pole.

(Saturn Today) A giant cloud half the size of the United States has been imaged on Saturn’s moon Titan by the Cassini spacecraft. The cloud may be responsible for the material that fills the lakes discovered last year by Cassini's radar instrument. [...]

These findings reinforce the idea that methane rains down onto the surface to form lakes, and then evaporates to form clouds. Scientists compare this methane cycle to the hydrological cycle on Earth, dubbing it 'methane-ologic cycle'.

Ground-based observations show this Titan cloud system comes and goes with the seasons. A season on Titan lasts approximately seven Earth years. Based on the global circulation models, it seems that such cloud activity can last about 25 Earth years before almost vanishing for four to five years, and then appearing again for 25 years.

Some scientists think that during the seasonal change that the clouds may reappear on in the south pole, although we will have to wait for a Cassini flyby to confirm that theory.

Although Titan lies almost a billion miles away from Earth, it certainly has not lost the attention of astronomers and may become an OPEC in the solar system as methane could be the fuel to take us beyond Saturn, helping us to colonize not only Uranus, but Neptune and Pluto as well.

Interactive: Saturn's Titan Will Require Space Elevators

Over at Planet Quest, NASA has developed a short, interactive tour that lets audiences know about Saturn's most mysterious moon, Titan.

What made this virtual tour interesting was the fact that according to NASA a single spark would be enough to engulf this moon in flames. This basically translates to the banning of rockets launching from the moon's surface, which requires an alternative method for transporting the methane off of Titan's surface.

It looks like LiftPort's and Black Line Ascension's great grand kids (assuming they will be running the space elevators future franchises) will be very busy in the distant future.

Note: To enjoy the virtual tour, simply click on the image below.

Saturns Lunar Titan May Be Worth Billions

Saturn's moon Titan may be one of the most valuable worlds in our solar system, after Earth and the Moon. Satellite flyby's and lunar probes have revealed Titan to be a world with many methane/ethane lakes dotting its surface (at least in the north).

(New York Times) As scientists have predicted but have had a hard time proving, the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, appears to be dotted with lakes of liquid methane. The lakes are more intriguing evidence of the active phenomena at play on the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere. [...]

The radar imaging system detected more than 75 dark patches in the landscape near Titan’s northern polar region, the scientists said in a detailed description of the find published today in the journal Nature.

The patches, they said, indicated smooth surfaces in an otherwise rugged topography, suggesting lake beds either partly dry or filled with liquid. These smooth surfaces, more or less circular and with diameters ranging from 2 miles to 40 miles, are associated with channels that appear to have been formed by flowing liquids, presumably tributaries to the lakes.

Despite the fact that conquering Titan is many generations away, the fact that this world harbors fuel resources is a very comforting thought for future colonists. With Saturn orbiting almost a billion miles away from the Sun, solar power may not be an option for those fortunate enough to land on its various moons.

Harvesting Titan's methane may provide a cheaper alternative to nuclear and hydrogen fuel via ice, and may allow humans to further explore our solar system without breaking the bank.

Is Saturn's Enceladus Spewing Water Or Clathrate?

One of the geysers of the ice moon Enceladus (nick named "cold faithful") may not be spewing out water as previously thought. Scientists have discovered new chemicals within the spray, leading to researchers to think that Enceladus may have more under the surface than H₂0.

(Space.com) "A problem with this model is that 10 percent of the plume consists of the gases carbon dioxide, nitrogen and methane," said lead study author, Susan Kieffer, a researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "You might get a carbon dioxide-driven liquid geyser there, but you can't put this much nitrogen and methane into liquid water at the low pressures found inside Enceladus."

Nitrogen and methane, almost insoluble in water, are highly soluble in clathrate. When exposed to vacuum, the gas molecules burst out, ripping the ice lattice to shreds and carrying the fragments away.

Although probably a century away from human exploration, Enceladus is proving to be an interesting moon to explore. If the methane concentration is high enough, it may not be surprising in the future to find its surface dotted with "ice rigs" pumping fuel towards the surface (although you get some protests from space environmentalists).

Titan Has Active Volcano's?

It looks like Titan may be able to join the "active terrestrial club" as their are some interesting clues revealing that its surface may harbor some volcanic action.

(New Scientist Space) The brightest spot on Saturn's moon Titan has been seen brightening and growing, suggesting it might be an active volcano, a controversial analysis of images from the Cassini spacecraft suggests. If so, it would be the first indication of current volcanic activity on the giant moon.

Scientists are interested in whether Titan is volcanically active because volcanoes could help supply the large amount of methane seen in its atmosphere. The methane is quickly broken down by sunlight, so it must be getting replenished in some way.

Although not 100% sure, scientist do think that this bright spot may be a volcanic eruption, although instead of magma or water ice (like Enceladus) it may be more of an ethane-methane mixture.

If so, this is good news as Titan lacks the oceans of methane that were once presumed to cover its surface.

Are Titan's Methane Lakes Evaporating?

It is probably a good thing Titan does not have a stock market, otherwise its fuel prices would be jumping through the roof at this news.

(New Scientist Space) A dozen more lakes have been discovered near the north pole of Saturn's moon Titan, according to images from the Cassini spacecraft's latest flyby of the moon. The lakes may be a seasonal phenomenon, filling with methane rain in the winter, then evaporating in the summer. [...]

The lakes may accumulate near the north and south pole in alternating periods when each experiences its winter and lower temperatures lead to more methane rain, [Stephen Wall of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, US.] says.

The key words in these paragraphs is "may," as the scientists seem to be unsure. Hopefully in the not so distant future (say 50 years) we will be able to land either a rover on Titan's surface or send humans to the moon before these lakes evaporate completely.

Ethane Clouds Spotted On Titan

Titan, the future OPEC of the solar system appears to have ethane clouds floating above the north pole. Scientists are speculating whether or not these clouds could produce ethane rain and even snow.

(New Scientist Space) A giant cloud of ethane has been found near Titan's north pole. The finding suggests that ethane rain or snow could accumulate around the moon's poles, partially accounting for Titan's missing ethane oceans. [...]

"We think that ethane is raining or, if temperatures are cool enough, snowing on the north pole right now," Griffith says. "When the seasons switch, we expect ethane to condense at the south pole during its winter."

Titan was previously thought to hold vast oceans, although scientists were surprised to find the surface to be "very sandy" in nature.

The discovery of possible methane lakes near the poles helped raise the value of this cloudy moon, although it may take some time to exploit Titan with it being a billion and a half kilometers away.

Methane Rain On Saturn's Moon Titan

With the discovery of methane lakes near the poles of Titan, some scientists think that violent rain storms may rain down methane on Titan--and perhaps cause flash floods.

(Red Orbit) Might it rain cold methane on Saturn's Titan? Recent analyses of measurements taken by the Huygen's probe that landed on Titan in 2005 January indicate that the atmosphere is actually saturated with methane at a height of about 8 kilometers.

Combined with observations of a damp surface and lakes near the poles, some astrobiologists conclude that at least a methane drizzle is common on parts of Titan.

Other astrobiologists reported computer models of the clouded moon that indicate that violent methane storms might even occur, complete with flash floods carving channels in the landscape.

It was previously thought that Titan lacked methane oceans, although evidence of channels upon the surface pointed to other wise. Although almost a billion miles away, Titan has the potential of becoming a lunar OPEC, exporting its methane fuel for profit.