Interplanetary Colony – humans suddenly have an interest
Interplanetary Colony:
Scenario: Due to some horrible event (probably of our own making), humans suddenly have an
interest in living somewhere other than Earth. We need a large terrestrial body with an
atmosphere, so the choices are Mars, Venus and Titan (one of Saturn’s moons). Using the
information provided, complete the exercise and decide where you would establish a colony.
Part 1. Things to think about in the Atmosphere:
The web comic XKCD has an entertaining (and scientifically accurate) explanation of how
different the atmospheres are on some of the larger bodies in the solar system. Read the article
and answer the following questions. https://what-if.xkcd.com/30/
1. Why do gasoline-powered engines only work on Earth?
2. What is the biggest challenge to flight on Mars? How does this affect the ability to steer the
airplane?
3. What is the biggest challenge to keeping a plane flying in the upper part of the Venusian
atmosphere? Why don’t we want to fly in the lower atmosphere?
4. (1 pt) Titan has a decent atmosphere for flying, but one big drawback. What is it?
Part 2: Things to think about on the ground:
1. Mars is where most of our current off-planet exploration takes place:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/mars. We know more about Mars than any other planet! In
what ways is Mars similar to Earth? How is it different?
2. Venus has been explored on a number of missions so far:
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/venus. What are some of the key differences between being
on the surface of the Earth and the surface of Venus?
3. NASA’s Cassini mission is just beginning to explore Titan:
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/index.cfm?SciencePageID=73. What are some of the Earth-like
features it has discovered so far? What are the ways Titan’s surface is different from Earth?
Part 3: Put it all together and tell us where to build a colony!
This section should have 2 paragraphs. Paragraph 1 will outline the pros and cons of
trying to colonize Mars, Venus and Titan. Use what you read online and what we talked about in
class (on 4/25). Paragraph 2 will state which place you think we should try to live on and why,
and some ideas as to how we might overcome some of the challenges of living there. I’m not
expecting NASA engineer answers; just use some common sense and a little creativity.
