NASA planetary scientist Amanda Hendricks and colleagues have named the most suitable celestial body for human colonization in the solar system. It turned out to be Titan - one of the moons of Saturn. Reported by Scientific American.
“Besides Mars, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn may become the next potential home for humans. There are many options among them, but the winner is clear. Titan is the most Earth-like celestial body,”the scientists report.
Titan, besides the Earth, is the only place in the solar system that has liquid lakes, but not water, but hydrocarbons. Unlike Mars, Saturn's moon has a dense atmosphere, 95 percent nitrogen. This, as well as the magnetic field of the gas giant, makes it possible to protect bodies on the surface of the satellite from cosmic radiation.
The atmospheric pressure at the surface of the satellite is 1.5 times higher than on Earth, which makes it possible to simplify the design of a spacesuit for potential colonizers and feel comfortable, in comparison with Mars, on the satellite of Saturn. The presence of hydrocarbons and water ice in the bowels of Titan will allow you not to worry about rocket fuel. Hendrix proposes to use plastic as a material for the construction of houses.
As obstacles on the way of colonization, scientists see the low temperatures on Titan, which on its surface are estimated at minus 180 degrees Celsius, as well as the great distance to the Earth - the flight from it to Titan by modern means will take seven years.
Scientists do not consider Mercury suitable for colonization due to high radiation and sudden temperature changes. Venus, in their opinion, is also not suitable for building a permanent settlement. The reason for this is the huge atmospheric pressure, 93 times higher than the Earth's, and high, about plus 460 degrees Celsius, temperatures.
The disadvantages of Mars, scientists see a tenuous atmosphere, high radiation hazard and resource constraints.
Titan is the largest of Saturn's 62 moons. It is almost one and a half times the diameter of the Moon and almost twice the mass. Titan's atmosphere is dominated by nitrogen with methane impurities forming clouds. On January 14, 2005, the Huygens probe landed on the surface of the satellite, earlier (December 25, 2004) separated from the parent station Cassini.
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