Space Colonization

Serenity595 said:
I have an interesting question: what is the worst planet or moon that we could possibly colonize with all [of at least the primary] advantages and disadvantages taken into account?
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Io, one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter. The moon is caught in a tidal gravity zone between Jupiter and the other moons, so it's highly seismically active. The unstable and ever-changing geology makes terraforming it virtually impossible - Io will remain a hellish lava moon as long as the other 3 main satellites are in orbit.
 
Serenity595 said:
I wonder... would Mercury or Venus pose more dangers to a future space colony?
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You should do your bit on Venus, and then we'll deduce an answer this queston from current evidence.

Just off the top of my head, I know that Venus's thick atmosphere is loaded with toxic gases. Just landing on the planet might be much more of a challenge than it is for Mercury.
 
lacar1601 said:
You should do your bit on Venus, and then we'll deduce an answer this queston from current evidence.

Just off the top of my head, I know that Venus's thick atmosphere is loaded with toxic gases. Just landing on the planet might be much more of a challenge than it is for Mercury.
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StTheo said:
I'd go for Venus. Oxygen and Nitrogen are lifting gases there, and the atmosphere at ~50 km above the surface is the most Earth-like in the Solar System.
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^ Why you don't land on the surface. Just float in a balloon (erm, a high-tech bio-dome-ish balloon)
 
Mars does, however, have a (relatively thin) atmosphere of carbon dioxide. And if you give them water, guess what plants turn into oxygen? :D
 
JHawk said:
Mars does, however, have a (relatively thin) atmosphere of carbon dioxide. And if you give them water, guess what plants turn into oxygen? :D
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Mars is freezing and has no magnetic field to protect it from radiation.
 
This is also true. But remember it is the closest (usually) planet to the earth, which means less travel time until we get somehting better than combustion engines
 
StTheo said:
^ Why you don't land on the surface. Just float in a balloon (erm, a high-tech bio-dome-ish balloon)
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Venus has such atmospheric pressure, that is nearly equal to ~90 earths at sea level. You'd have to go down 1km into the ocean to get an equivalent on earth. That balloon would need to be made of incredibly strong alloy to last more than a few minutes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_7
 
I have another question: if our society became so advanced that interplanetary travel within our solar system was commercially feasible and that we already had colonies established on several planets, what kind of profession would you pursue, and which planet would you live on?
 
Serenity595 said:
I have another question: if our society became so advanced that interplanetary travel within our solar system was commercially feasible and that we already had colonies established on several planets, what kind of profession would you pursue, and which planet would you live on?
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Normally, I'd say the Earth, but if it was possible, perhaps a moon of Jupiter or Saturn. The scenery would be absolutely amazing, especially with Saturn. Profession wise, since I don't know how far we as humans will have advanced in other technologies, I don't know how to answer.

Bit off subject here:
Perhaps by then we will have achieved an Utopian society, and the profession you have is not set in stone, but rather shifts according to what is needed or what you desire to do. The type of Utopian society I am thinking of one similar to the Age of Legends from the Wheel of Time series. Obviously, we won't have Aes Sedai, but perhaps as a whole we will be alike.

http://wot.wikia.com/wiki/Age_of_Legends

Quoting the Wheel of Time wiki:
Long ago people had stopped thinking of material wealth. Since so much was in abundance that no one lacked anything, material wealth was plentiful and easy to achieve. But having status in the eyes of the community as a whole was everything, and could only be gained by service to it. Everyone was born with two names, and only through service to the community could one gain a third. All were important to this world, from the great to the small. All who wanted to work had work, and no one starved or was made over.

Artist's Rendering from Titan of Saturn:
521503-bigthumbnail.jpg
 
Serenity595 said:
I have another question: if our society became so advanced that interplanetary travel within our solar system was commercially feasible and that we already had colonies established on several planets, what kind of profession would you pursue, and which planet would you live on?
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I would pursue an Aerospace Engineering career (like I am now!!!). The interplanetary corporations need people to design and make the spaceships work.
I'll live nearest to where I am needed, which will probably be Earth.
 
pasaria said:
Venus has such atmospheric pressure, that is nearly equal to ~90 earths at sea level. You'd have to go down 1km into the ocean to get an equivalent on earth. That balloon would need to be made of incredibly strong alloy to last more than a few minutes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venera_7
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That's why the balloon would be very far up in the sky, probably 52-53 km up:

50 km
75 °C (167 °F)
1.066 atm

55 km
27 °C (81 °F)
0.5314 atm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Venus

I'm not saying humans would be out walking in this (and the 100 m/s wind), but they'd be better prepared with such similar conditions to Earth.

As the gases humans require to breath are lifting gases on Venus, buoyancy would simply be a matter of volume.
 
oozinator said:
Io, one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter. The moon is caught in a tidal gravity zone between Jupiter and the other moons, so it's highly seismically active. The unstable and ever-changing geology makes terraforming it virtually impossible - Io will remain a hellish lava moon as long as the other 3 main satellites are in orbit.
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Interesting fact, Io is so seismically active that it has actually turned itself inside out several times over its lifetime.
 
Serenity595 said:
I have another question: if our society became so advanced that interplanetary travel within our solar system was commercially feasible and that we already had colonies established on several planets, what kind of profession would you pursue, and which planet would you live on?
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I would live in a cramped space on a desolate, lifeless rock, just to see a sunset from a new sky. It wouldn't matter to me what I did for a living.
PIA07997_spiritmars.jpg
 
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