OFF-WORLD: Colonies

The following Off-World Colonies are just some of the existing worlds in which people can live. People are welcome to create more, so long as they research their existence in the Solar System. Self contained bases can exist anywhere on a lifeless rock utilizing bio-spheres to produce their own food and water.

Provided is some information and links in order to keep the science real, but what occurs on the worlds is up to your imagination.

Lunar Colony
Space City Terra
Martian Colony
Galiliean Colonies (Jupiter Worlds)
Saturn Moon Settlements

The Moon

http://www.lunarrepublic.com/atlas/index.shtml

http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/lunarform/maria.html

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2008/07/09/moonnames.jpg

The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is 384,403 km, about thirty times the diameter of the Earth.
The Moon makes a complete orbit around the Earth every 27.3 days (the orbital period), and the periodic variations in the geometry of the Earth–Moon–Sun system are responsible for the phases of the moon, which repeat every 29.5 days.
The Moon is in synchronous rotation, which means it rotates about its axis in about the same time it takes to orbit the Earth. This results in it keeping nearly the same face turned towards the Earth at all times.

The Moon's diameter is 3,474 km, a little more than a quarter of that of the Earth. Thus, the Moon's surface area is less than a tenth that of the Earth (about a quarter the Earth's land area, approximately as large as Russia, Canada, and the United States combined), and its volume is about 2 percent that of Earth.
The pull of gravity at its surface is about 17 percent of that at the Earth's surface.
During the lunar day, the surface temperature averages 107 °C, and during the lunar night, it averages −153 °C.

The dark and relatively featureless lunar plains which can clearly be seen with the naked eye are called maria (singular mare), Latin for seas, since they were believed by ancient astronomers to be filled with water. These are now known to be vast solidified pools of ancient basaltic lava.

The lighter-colored regions of the Moon are called terrae, or more commonly just highlands, since they are higher than most maria.



In the year, 2030, Artemis was completed. A fully functional and self sufficient city that would become the blue print of many others in the years to come. It is located in the Mare of Imbrium, by the geological formation called Aristillus.

In 2048, all criminals that are repeat offenders or convicted of violent acts are now sent to Charon, a prison and a labour camp where all inmates are used to carve out new mining shafts or assist in the construction of new camps and bases

Today there are many lunar settlements above and below the landscape, extending to the dark side. Artemis has grown considerably but it is still not the choice location for Off-Worlders and it is mainly a mining town with an extensive space port. Many ships use the lunar city as a stop over point and it also an inter-system customs port that cargo ships must stop at for inspection.



Operational in 2038, Terra has remained a space port that is used as customs agency and an Off-World, play ground like Las Vegas, on a smaller scale.

Mars (population: approx. 1 billion)

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. It is also referred to as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, caused by iron(III) oxide, more commonly known as hematite, or rust.

It is the site of Olympus Mons, the highest known mountain in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon. Furthermore, in June 2008 three articles published in Nature presented evidence of an enormous impact crater in Mars' northern hemisphere, 10,600 km long by 8,500 km wide, or roughly four times larger than the largest impact crater yet discovered, the South Pole-Aitken basin.[6][7] In addition to its geographical features, Mars’ rotational period and seasonal cycles are likewise similar to those of Earth.

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped.

Mars is also roughly intermediate in size, mass, and surface gravity between Earth and Earth's Moon. (Approx. 60% Earth Gravity)

Mars’ average distance from the Sun is roughly 230 million km (1.5 AU) and its orbital period is 687 (Earth) days. The solar day (or sol) on Mars is only slightly longer than an Earth day: 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. A Martian year is equal to 1.8809 Earth years, or 1 year, 320 days, and 18.2 hours.
Mars's axial tilt is 25.19 degrees, which is similar to the axial tilt of the Earth. As a result, Mars has seasons like the Earth, though on Mars they are nearly twice as long given its longer year. Mars passed its perihelion in April 2009 and its aphelion in May 2008. It next reaches perihelion in May 2011 and aphelion in March 2010.
Ares City established in, 2047, built at the base of Olympus Mons, is a now a conurbation of several other centres. Through the centuries the magneto-sphere of Mars has been repaired allowing an atmosphere to develop and a renewable source of energy for the entire population. Terra-forming has converted the surface of the planet and it now has a breathable atmosphere for modified Humans. Day-time temperatures can reach 42 degrees Celsius and night time down to -5ºC in the Summer months, allowing hardier plant life to be established. The air is thin and Earthlings would soon suffocate without breathing apparatus.



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

The Galilean moons are the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei on January 7, 1610. They are the largest of the many moons of Jupiter and derive their names from the lovers of Zeus (the Greek equivalent of the Roman god Jupiter): Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.

The Galilean satellites of Jupiter like Earth's Moon, rotate synchronously with its orbital period, keeping one face nearly pointed toward the Jupiter star, but by using gravitons, scientists have been able to stimulate rotations in all of the Jupiter worlds.

Beginning in the year 2082 bases were set up on the Galilean Moons of Jupiter and scientists prepared to execute an experiment inspired by the popular science-fiction novel, '2010 - Odyssey 2' by Arthur C. Clarke, intending to transform Jupiter into a star that would provide life to the larger moons. In 2095, they are successful and Jupiter is now a star, orbiting the Sun with it's own system. Over time the four large moons develop atmospheres due to advanced terra-forming techniques greatly speeding up slow moving geological processes.

Io (population: 350,000)
Io is the innermost of the four Galilean moons moons of Jupiter and, with a diameter of 3,642 kilometers, the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System.

Io orbits Jupiter at a distance of 421,700 km (262,000 mi) from the planet's center and 350,000 km (217,000 mi) from its cloudtops. It takes 42.5 hours to orbit and rotates once every 16.3 hours. It's gravity is 70% that of Earth.

With over 400 active volcanoes, Io is the most geologically active object in the Solar System. Its surface is dotted with more than 100 mountains, some which are taller than Earth's Mount Everest. Unlike most satellites in the outer Solar System (which have a thick coating of ice), Io is primarily composed of silicate rock surrounding a molten iron or iron sulfide core. It is because of it's harsh environment that very little people seek to live on this world, which is more of a geologists dream.



Europa, the second of the four Galilean moons, is the second closest to Jupiter and the smallest at 3121.6 kilometers in diameter, which is slightly smaller than Earth's Moon. It was once one of the smoothest objects in the solar system, with a layer of water surrounding the mantle of the planet, thought to be 100 kilometers thick, but after the creation of Jupiter Star, it began to quickly melt.

Europa is now a fresh water world, only 15% of it's surface is land. It has an earth-like environment, although much warmer on average than Earth, making it uncomfortable for unadapted Humans. All of it's islands are populated.

Europa gravity is 90% that of Earth's. Oribital Period: 3.55 days. Rotation: 1.6 days.



Ganymede is the largest natural satellite in the Solar System at 5262.4 kilometers in diameter, which makes it larger than the planet Mercury - although only at about half of its mass. It is composed primarily of silicate rock and at one time a salt-water ocean existed nearly 200 km below Ganymede's icy surface, sandwiched between layers of ice. Now salt water oceans span the world, and fresh water lakes exist within the various land masses of the third Jupiter world which is most like Earth. It's similarities to the home world have made Ganymede the most popular of the Off-World Colonies, it even has the same gravity.

It takes Ganymede approximately 7 days to orbit Jupiter and it's forced rotation occurs every 17 hours.



Callisto is the fourth and last Galilean moon, and is the second largest of the four, and at 4820.6 kilometers in diameter, it is the third largest moon in the Solar System. It now has salt water oceans and land masses with fresh water. The surface of the moon is cool compared with Ganymede and only very hardy plants can exist on it's surface. It's gravity is 1 and a half times greater than Earth's.

It takes Callisto 16.7 days (400.8 hours) to orbit Jupiter and it's rotation takes 3 days.

Callisto is not as developed as the other worlds, due to the fact that it's atmosphere still contains a high degree of carbon dioxide which many are not willing to physically adapt to, so breathing apparatus is still required.



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

The Saturn Moons are sparsely populated and though scientists have long looked at attempting to terra-form the moon Titan it still does not appear prospective. All settlements are within bio-domes or below the surface of the moons.