Jupiter and Satellites

Jupiter and his famous red spot. The bright point is Europe, near satellite, the other is Io.

Jupiter, the ogre of the solar system. The planetary monster, a huge balloon composed of the same gases responsible for the burning of a star, with the only difference that what the star Jovien could recover from the agglomerated matter that went away sucked into the future sun, n by far the critical mass needed to provoke a thermonuclear reaction. So we escaped the birth of a second star in the heart of this system, a configuration that had happened so many times in so many other natural configurations. Double stars are counted in the hundreds of thousands, billions of them reported on the scale of the galaxy. This is an extremely frequent case, doubled by particular cases to which we will return.

In this particular case, Jupiter could potentially have been a brown dwarf, quickly burning its fuel and bringing very little heat to its satellites. Nevertheless, as a planet, his court was the most numerous: There were 12 main satellites and 167 lower in total, not counting the theory of tiny blocks of ice constituting its ring.

Its relatively hot gases (450 ° in illuminated surface) rotating in well-defined bands at surface and at depth, mainly composed of Hydrogen and helium (99%), are distributed in temperate bands North, Equatorial and South, whiter than those around them, the latter hosting the famous spot, this Dantesque anticyclone not yet resorbed several centuries after we had undertaken to colonize its four main satellites, and business card required of any good tourist.



This god of the Greeks observable at all times by the naked eye, what was he for the modern man, this homo cosmicus, eager to shamelessly use everything he once admired without reaching it other than In dreams: It was with the first missions of explorations by probes in the 21st century, the deep atmosphere of Jupiter, then the four main satellites, that a conviction of more precise utility of these distant worlds was forged.

The profusion of utility gases for conventional propulsion, less expensive than plasma turbines, have naturally led to the exploitation of these resources at hand. It was enough to send a station on the spot capable of exploiting the ocean of methane. All the virtual configurations in this area were tested boldly, seeking to design structures capable of "floating" on the densest layers of its ocean of liquid methane, and a station in high orbit capable of continuously pumping gases without running. the risk, in case of too fast approach of its "surface", to put back a little push by combustion without leading to a cataclysmic catastrophe ...

Towards the end of the twenty-first century, we finally had extremely precise scenarios, which stood out, but not yet useful. Over the next ten years, we decided to design a fully automated study space station. The latter, Joveye, a quick popular nickname, arrived on the scene after a trip of more than three years. In 2118, it was operational. She had to test various configurations and take a battery of precise measurements. It did its job for 12 years, and was joined by a colossal station, in fact a ship to be separated into several autonomous parts, one of them destined for Europe, on which a base existed for a long time, but also of deposit on Io, Ganymede and Callisto automated infrastructures responsible for browsing the various sites of installation and exploitation of resources

2530: Jupiter and its daughters were all "colonized" to varying degrees by homo sapiens: In terms of colonization, we must refer to the diagram below, drawn up in 2130 definitively by the ISA, an emanation of the UN which has become UEF (Union of Earth Federations), in front of the beginning of terraformation of Mars and its division into states. According to directive 225-45, class A, B, C, D or E colonization are those whose nature is expressed below.

-Colonization of type A:

Basic colonization of placing a space station in permanent orbit of the planet considered (Gaseous can not receive base on their soil by definition even their nature are colonized through atmospheric or orbital structures.) In the case of a rocky planet, a permanent base, even of small dimensions, fixed or mobile, with human presence, is enough.

-Colonization type B: Within this framework, any planetary occupation exceeding one million individuals.

-Colonization of type C:

Within this framework, any planetary occupation exceeding one billion individuals, even if the planet is not livable naturally, definitely or temporarily.

-Colonization of type D: This includes any planetary occupation exceeding ten billion or more inhabitants, including orbital space stations, but excluding other natural satellites and vessels, as the planet is not livable naturally, permanently or provisionally.

-Colonization of type E:

Within this framework, any colonization having resorted to terraforming processes in order to make the planet habitable naturally, whatever the resident population.

225-45 A: "Is not considered colonization any presence of a terrestrial or orbital probe, in which human presence is excluded."
225-45 B: "Any planet having, during exploration missions, including in a colonization period of type A, B or later, revealed indisputable signs of an existing local life apart from any consequences of the human presence, will be automatically declared sanctuary and any presence other than that devolved to paragraph 3 of Article 225-47 for purely research purposes, will be permanently and irrevocably prohibited to any human occupation. "

(These two texts will be of paramount importance since they will result from their observation or contempt of armed conflicts of a rare violence.) It was at the same time that this text was declared that the colonization commission, an emanation of the UEF under the presidency of an ISA member, was created.

2530, so. Jupiter now has more than 128,000 "settlers", called Jovians, living in a network of space stations in high and low orbits, and in giant, dirigible mining balloons, the "gas mines", and on some "floating" stations on the ocean of methane. Life in its stations and balloons is very peculiar (see the chapters concerning Jupiter) and the life of funchals is not easy in this highly inhospitable environment. Contrary to certain works of fiction, the star Jovien did not offer in the 1000 km of its superheated atmosphere the least chance of survival to volatile organisms. But this did not prevent local scientific teams from trying to implement a totally artificial species, defined by a complete genetic modeling based on advanced virtual simulations. Jovian jellyfish have never really been able to adapt to local conditions.

Subsequently, Jupiter, which lived on its exports of methane, hydrogen and helium, and whose construction of gas carriers was an important activity of one of its space stations, did not vary much in its population, remaining around 800,000 to one million five residents. The diffused light in the atmosphere allowed greenhouses to be efficient enough, and the stations, autonomous. But they remained largely dependent on satellites, and imported 95% of its resources.

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Io, a volcano world

This colorful world, with a radius of approximately 1820 Km, is composed of silicates both in depth and on the surface. Its tenuous atmosphere of nitrogen is highly sulfurous and unequally distributed according to the presence of volcanoes active or not. But its average temperature is -150 °. Clouds of sodium chloride released by the oxidation volcanoes orbit around Io. Its volcanic activity is most fantastic: The absence of craters testify to this: Their traces have been covered by frequent lava flows and massive silicate fallout. Alongside the largest Ioens volcanoes, those of the earth are calm and modest: Top of 5200 meters and about twenty kilometers wide, Loki expels gases from depths to 1000 meters / seconds (ten times faster than on land. ), and is a good example. Masaw patera, Prometheus, Pele and Ra Patera are also very impressive, ejecting their material into the atmosphere by creating a gas "balloon" visible from deep space. There are more than 200 Caldeiras listed, most of them over 20 km.



Planet colonized in 2130, after being explored, it has a rocky surface unstable because of its proximity to Jupiter. Volcanism is constant there, the seismology of the most restless. In fact, the ground is shaken by jerks in all places and permanently, with varying degrees. The Richter scale 1 is crossed at least twice in 24 hours. As a result, the construction of fixed structures being compromised, we opted for massive "trucks", of those which were in use on earth, with a cold fusion stack walking with liquid hydrogen, which came from Jupiter. These trucks, in fact earlier motorized rafts, and transported modules of housing, resource exploitation, mines. It was only in 2180 that fixed, earthquake resistant structures were built. The population was mainly composed of miners, but never exceeded 7 million. At the top of its population, Io counted in 3655 near 337 stations and bases of different importance: It went from the mobile bases, vestiges of the old "trucks" whose principle had been pushed in its entrenchments, to the gigantic stations and cities of hobbies designed to save the miner a tedious and expensive trip to Mars or the land.

The largest of these, Haemston, lies at the Northeast North foot of the Haemus Mountains, (South Pole) with peaks surpassing Everest. This complex covers 23 kilometers long and alone hosts 560,000 settlers. It is the Ionian capital of fact. There are also 6 bases large enough to qualify as "big cities", including Creidnan Ridge and Maasawton, located near the volcanic plains of Creidne and Maasaw. They house 133,000 and 95,400 settlers at this time. The remaining millions of settlers are mostly miners turning in monthly shifts, and the standard size of a farm is around 5 Ha, with two or three large main buildings designed to house between 200 and 4000 settlers. These facilities were partially dismantled when the area became unprofitable, and the only area excluding permanent colonization was about 110 kilometers around Loki, the largest active volcano.



Io, surface artificially colored to reveal the details of volcanism. Different cities and mines of prime importance. Around 4150, the Ionian population began to fade like snow in the sun. Most of the most profitable deposits had been exploited to a manageable depth (the Ionian subsoil is as magmatic as that of the earth, and much less depth ...) It then had only 1,230,951 colonists ... After in the sixth millennium there will be only a few farms for the production of local heavy-export industry. One of the major activities of Io, with the extraction of ores was the transformation into alloy, and the construction of structures and modules for the Jovian and then Saturnian bases (assemblies in high orbit).

It is a relatively rough population and a very low social level. The "dormitory ships" were built in a truly scandalous fashion, a security sacrificed for carrying a human load because Io was a great labor-seeker at the beginning of the fourth millennium. All came from the land with shipments of dreams of eldorados and false hopes and admitted fraudulently hibernation "losses" of up to 12% under cover of accidents like rains of micrometeorites and deaths artificially counted some time more late on the Ionian surface under the term "accident of work". In the bases and the mines, the situation was hardly more pleasant. The key word remained profitability, for which all the rest was sacrificed. The tragedy for these penniless miners was that to leave this frozen hell, they had to buy a return ticket that was 50% more expensive than what was being done elsewhere in the system.



Sa rotation/révolution est de 1,769 jours alors qu’avec 422 000 Km de distance, c’est le plus proche des satellites Joviens. Planète colonisée en 2130, après avoir été explorée, elle possède une surface rocheuse instable du fait de sa proximité avec Jupiter. Le volcanisme y est constant, la sismologie des plus remuante. En fait, le sol est secoué de secousses en tous endroits et en permanence, avec des degrés divers. L’échelle 3 de Richter est franchie au moins deux fois en 24 heures. Celles-ci sont engendrées par les formidables frottements des plaques rocheuses et du magma s’échauffant lors des amplitudes de surface ( 100 mètres ) relevées avec l’effet d’influence gravitationnelle des autres satellites. De ce fait, la construction de structures fixes étant compromises, on opta pour des « trucks » massifs, de ceux qui étaient en usage sur terre, avec une pile à fusion froide marchant à l’hydrogène liquide, lequel venait de Jupiter. Ces camions, en fait plus tôt des radeaux motorisés, transportaient ainsi des modules d’habitation, d’exploitation des ressources, des mines. C’est seulement en 2180 que l’on construisit des structures antisismiques fixes suffisamment sécurisées. La population était essentiellement composée de mineurs, mais ne dépassa jamais 7 millions d’individus.

Europe - The Water Moon

Etrange planète que ce satellite, second en distance depuis Jupiter, 1565 Km de rayon, dont la croûte est littéralement constellée de fractures, couturée, déchiquetée de failles de glace. Car avec une couche épaisse de 50 à 100 Km, son allure est unique. Les zones sombres correspondant à des affleurements, les zones claires à des zones de grande profondeur. Une journée Europienne correspond à 3.55 jours terrestres, son année est identique. On pensait au départ qu’ Europe aurait pu abriter des sources de vies en profondeur, si elle possédait un noyau ferreux, ce que sa densité laissait supposer, entouré d’un manteau magmatique actif. Sous la surface de cette épaisse carapace gelée, un océan existe à l’état liquide, lequel aurait pu avec la chaleur dispensée par le manteau à cette grande profondeur et à cette pression, dispenser un geyser de vapeurs brûlantes, riches en particules, capable d’engendrer un « oasis » tel qu’il en avaient étés observés à grande profondeur sur terre. L’enjeu était de taille : Il s’agirait de la première découverte authentique d’un biotope extraterrestre. Mais l’activité géologique Europienne restait relativement faible.



If the probes discovered the real presence of a liquid ocean under ice, they were only relatively shallow areas and the absence of any hot springs highlighted the absence of significant geological activity. However, the first human bases (dating back to 2180) were designed to build plants capable of exploiting available water and cooling, while rejecting this cooling water below the surface. The very strong pressure of depth combined with the total absence of light being prohibitive for any form of life, we made the singular experience of "bubbles of life", huge hemispherical zones a few tens of meters under the ice, fed by the solar light diffracted by the icy layer, arriving by "catch basins" of light, and in which a decomposition chemistry allowed the ice to release its oxygen. The supply of tons of biological materials, soil, from the earth and Mars, allowed to constitute a nourishing soil, that the establishment of hundreds of plant species was responsible for making prosper.



With time, these "bubbles" multiplied, joined, and the possibility for man to live under the ice of Europe became a tangible reality: In 3380, there were already 27 major bubbles in perpetual expansion. An attempt was also made to create large liquid pockets for a large marine genetically modified ecosystem. Aquaculture farms, fish farms in general, developed rapidly and provided a good deal of economic activity in Europe. However, the danger of these structures was their proximity to the surface, because in the event of landslide or poorly controlled melting, in case of contact with the surface, it was the immediate and irrevocable danger of such a fatal atmospheric decompression. only in space. Accidents thus occurred in many places. But these techniques of control of the ice, in connection with the surface, progressed so that in 4250, there were two million colonists on its surface, two million Europeans. The cities were built partly on the surface and partly, especially the residential part, at shallow depths under the ice. Its population evolved to stabilize at around 3.15 million at the beginning of the sixth millennium.

Ganymede: Frozen desert

This third Jovian satellite in distance (1 070 000 km), the largest of all (2634 km in diameter, the largest of all the satellites, exceeding in size Mercury), had a desperately flat rock surface and little tormented. It is a singular world still, because of a silicate nucleus of exceptional massiveness, representing 4/5 of the total volume of the planet, the rest being divided between an ocean of ice forming a mantle of 500 Km of thickness on which floats a vast raft of rocks 100 km thick. Also, the geological activity, which was very lively in the past, during the youth of this world, in the nebula that formed Jupiter then in formation, inexorably dryens over millions of years of progressive cooling. The light areas correspond to a geologically young surface, unlike the "seas", like the moon, darker. However the highest reliefs are impact craters, usually less than a thousand meters. The "seas" are generally deeper, like plains, but the altitude difference is low: about 2300 meters.

What could man do on this sterile world? From 2195, the construction of domes to make the most of the low sunlight, inflatable and rigid, first experimented on the moon, adapted to Ganymede, on much larger dimensions. A large depression was dug at each construction so that there was less translucent protective material to fix. These very large structures were indeed intended to house agricultural crops, and even livestock. Endless pressurized "greenhouses" were built and the rest of the habitat was mostly troglodyte. The absence of telluric activity allowed the construction of relatively frail and simple structures. The mining activity was of course one of those which caught the attention: Gradually, it exceeded that of Io, thanks to the calmness of its surface, and one registered the first million settlers during the Ganymedienne new year, 7,155 days gone , in 3520. It culminated in 4890, with 13 million colonists, who made it the most populated colonized satellite of the solar system.

Its industrial activity made it suitable for building stations and vessels and its orbital yards made it the first producer of vessels in the Jovian zone. The political power of the Jovian colonies settled there and in 3960 already, the land federation established there the assembly of the colonies, the decentralized political organ which managed all the worlds colonized beyond the belt. There was another on Earth, embryo of the future commission of colonization. The idea of ​​implanting a breathable artificial atmosphere was never mentioned since the distance from the sun deprived her of the slightest chance of survival. But this little stellar light still fed the thousands of solar panel batteries, and heated the millions of translucent greenhouses and domes that marked the landscape of the planet.

Presenting the same surface in the sun for nearly 3 1/2 days, it guaranteed maximum productivity, but also a "fallow" mid-weekly. Much of humanity was in fact dark, and only lamps fed by the light-receiving photoreceptors and thermonuclear power plants were able to maintain this biomorphic productivity at this time. Like most worlds of the star system, Ganymede saw its population emigrate en masse to new terraformed planets like Mars, then Venus, and in neighboring systems including Proxima (Alpha Centauri) at the beginning of the sixth millennium. In 10,000 AD JC, the earth calendar used throughout the star system, there were only 650 000 Ganymedians managing a meager tourist activity compensated by the creation of gaming houses and vice legalized through "free zones", the system legal relief designed to revive the attraction for this planet.

Callisto - Icy Mounts & Marvels

The last major planet in the Jovian system, Callisto, 1,883,000 km from Jupiter, and 2400 km wide (18,000 km in diameter) was the second largest satellite in the solar system. His year was longer (a little more than fifteen days of rotation coupled with a revolution). Much colder than its other three sisters because of a small percentage of silicates required for a deep nuclear reaction (release of unstable radioactive isotopes releasing heat by transmutation). In fact, its geological activity is non-existent. However, its surface, very dark and therefore old, studded with craters, is much more tormented than that of Ganymede: The difference in altitude represents some 4250 meters.

Ice and rocks coexist in most of the plains formed by meteoritic impacts, of which the large, concentric, concentric circles of Valhalla near the equator are typical examples. It is also the site of the establishment of the first human base, in 2205. Mines, but also agricultural sites under domes, some in ravines and craters, like other comparable worlds will be built, but the relative poverty of Callisto silicates does not allow a vast industrial exploitation. In the end, the Callistienne population culminated in 3230 with 3 million settlers, a very small population compared to the hell that was Europe. Unattractive, Callisto never had the favors of immigration and was the first to develop very permissive leisure centers to attract settlers. An almost paternalistic assistance society was also his characteristic. As for Ganymede, his activity declined with an emigration of his soil to other more "natural" heavens at the dawn of the fifth millennium

However, the tourist activity, thanks to the numerous "encapsulated" reliefs and the omnipresent snow allowed a considerable skiing activity; but it is especially the extraordinary discovery of Mies Van Herstal in 2361 that gave Callisto its unique tourist patina: The largest crystal caves ever observed; due to a very particular ancient geological activity, responsible for the creation of unique crystal stalactites and stalagmites of their kind over distances and breathtaking proportions. "The wonders of Callisto". Diamond activity became one of the planet's favorite activities, although Ganymede\'s business was ahead of it. These abundant natural crystals, however, were very difficult to reproduce and greatly helped in the definition of the new photon wafers of supercomputers.

Other Jovian Worlds: Minor satellites:

Cities in order of proximity:

Metis (30 km radius, planetoid that served as a front base for Jovian gas stations and mines.)
Adastree (10 Km radius, with functions identical to Metis.)
Amalthee (137 by 73 Km, main advanced Jovian base.)
Thebe (55 by 45 km., Also used as a base and warehouse)
Themisto (less than 5 Km radius, located beyond the Callistienne orbit, and used as a deposit of hazardous material.)
Leda (about 5 Km radius, and located at 11 094 000 Km from Jupiter, hosted a communication complex)
Himalia (located in an orbit similar to Leda, but 80 km long. Several deposits and a mine.)
Lisythee (orbiting 11,720,000 km from Jupiter and 12 km wide, housed a supply center and a workshop)
Elara (Located at 11,737,000 Km from Jupiter and 40 km wide, the main supply base for LNG carriers passing through its orbital trajectory.)
Esmana (about 3 km in circumference, deposit.)
Iocaste (idem)
Praxidike (about 25 km long, used as a supply base for transplanetary cargo ships.)
Harpalyke (12 Km long, used as a deposit.)
Ananke (18 km long, orbiting 22 million km from Jupiter and used as a communication center)
Isonoe (10 km long, used as a police base.)
Erinome (12 km long, officially uninhabited.)
Taygete (9 Km long, used as a depot)
Chaldene (10 km long, used as storage of hazardous materials)
Carme (15 km long, used as depot and supply center)
Pasiphae (Orbite 23 million km from Jupiter, 18 km long, serves as a supply base for original LNG carriers and transformed into space stations following its digging and its gradual growths, became the main supply center for LNG tankers. on the orbital axis of the earth.)


Labolee (5 km in diameter, officially unused)
Kalyke (15 km in diameter, base of supply and deposit of parts, construction site.)
Magaclite (12 km, hospital and general base)
Sinope (14 Km, Base, Depot and Mine)
Callirhoe (17 Km, deposit.)
Agalcyte (6 Km, police base)
Colcidiade (11 km, dangerous goods depot.) ...

About fifty asteroids of two to three kilometers long, most of which remained uninhabited, are located between 18 million and 26 million km from Jupiter. Known and referenced by combinations of numbers (S / 2001 J3 for example, depending on the year of its discovery), they remain known and identified to ensure the safety of trade routes. Among them, at least five have become outposts of the Jovian space, equipped with sensors and automated relay systems.