Greetings my intrepid troops!
In this article I discuss how we can colonize Titan and transform the gassy moon into an Earth-like place.
- Introduce lots of H2O (Enceladus is a nice ice farm)
- Introduce CO2 producers
- Slowly introduce moss and lichens when the temperature is warm enough
- Harness Geothermal Energy for Heat
First of all, the planet is way too cold and covered in ammonia. Yikes! We can change this by introducing ice en masse to the planet. This can be achieved by raining watery comets on Titan or large ice chunks from nearby Enceladus. While I understand the ability to do so is beyond our present grasp…the concept is still achievable. With enough water ice rained on to the surface it will react with the naturally abundant ammonia and in theory separate out into atmospheric nitrogen and water. These ingredients are needed for Earth-life.
Once this is achieved we step into another tricky step: producing enough CO2 while producing enough heat. To do this we need to generate enough heat by building small factories on this moon.
These factories would need to produce enough greenhouse gases to trap heat. The produced CO2 is a major step in the right direction. These factories would also need to produce artificial sunlight for oncoming plant life. (Major Challenge) Once there is enough warmth, light and carbon dioxide we can then soundly advance to phase two.
Phase two begins with the introduction of mosses and primitive plant life. This plant life would have a head-start with the rise in carbon dioxide, sufficient water and light. the young plants would have to work hard but with enough seeding and planting we could see a dramatic oxygen increase. This process could also be sped up by adding more synthetic oxygen to the planet via factory production.
The last step is to tap into Titan’s geothermal energy for electricity and sustained heat. We would need mass drills boring tunnels into the rocky moon. With the right technology in place we will send the inner heat to the surface and sustain our energy needs.
While I am not a scientist, nor am I saying these methods are absolute, they are nonetheless ideas the science community can build upon and improve.
My hope is one day this gassy moon can house human life and further our journey into the great space beyond.