Comments on Colony Worlds: Neptune's Triton: Is It Worth Billions, Or Trillio...

Hey Qraal,Thanks for the link! :-)

2008-04-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

Hey Qraal,

Thanks for the link! :-)

Hi AgainThat NASA reference was...http://gltrs.grc...

2008-04-22T03:42:00.000-04:00

Hi Again

That NASA reference was...

http://gltrs.grc.nasa.gov/Citations.aspx?id=78

...worth a read.

Hi DarnellPluto should be a lot like Triton and ...

2008-04-21T23:35:00.000-04:00

Hi Darnell

Pluto *should* be a lot like Triton and *could* be quite different - sure enough, check my blog for an update. A new study on its atmosphere hints it could be a lot denser than Triton's, especially if Pluto has a hazy troposphere distorting the occultation data. What would be mind-blowing would be a very deep greenhouse effect atmosphere and a *warm* surface, but that's just my fantasy.

As for mining gas giants, have you seen any recent papers on the idea? I have the old JBIS "Daedalus" report which details the balloons they proposed to mine Jupiter. Too hard. Jupiter's gravity well is too step for nuclear ramjets with reasonable reactor designs. Gas-core rockets at a bare minimum. Uranus is the easiest, and Plus Ultra Technologies did a design study for a robotic miner a few years ago - tho they're offline these days.

Hey Qraal!That's an interesting perspective regard...

2008-04-21T21:21:00.000-04:00

Hey Qraal!

That's an interesting perspective regarding Triton. I wonder if the "ocean" underneath its icy surface would be composed of a similar organic mix found on Enceladus?

If future explorers could pipe up water/organic material from below (nice and "hot") then it would make it much easier to live off of that world.

If only the New Horizons probe could make a quick pit stop around Neptune, then we might have some interesting data regarding that frozen moon. :-D

~Darnell

BTW I reported on some relevant Triton research on...

2008-04-18T02:25:00.000-04:00

BTW I reported on some relevant Triton research on my blog...

http://crowlspace.com/?p=123

...check it out!

Hi DarnellTriton's surface shows very few craters ...

2008-04-18T02:21:00.000-04:00

Hi Darnell

Triton's surface shows very few craters and what it does have seem to be from bits knocked off its neighbouring moons. The "cantaloupe terrain" seems to indicate extensive cryovolcanic activity and the apparently youthful surface seems to imply that Triton has a lot of internal warming happening for some, as yet, unknown reason. Perhaps that indicates a relatively shallow sub-surface ocean? Piping up high-pressure water from down below might be a good way to warm the colony.
I've always liked Triton, alongside Titan, but the signs for shallow internal oceans on Titan are obscure to non-existent. Triton, paradoxically, might be one of the warmest outer planet moons - if we but scratch its icy crust.