The Future of Europa and Titan

Let's fast-forward about 5 billion years. The sun becomes a red giant. The inner rocky planets get engulfed and destroyed by the sun. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune survive. Jupiter takes center stage and becomes the closest planet to the sun. Europa, the 6th closest moon of Jupiter which currently consists of an icy crust with the high probability of a vast ocean underneath would virtually turn into a waterworld as the ice would melt away. Titan, Saturn's biggest moon which consists of water ice and rocky material could end up very Earth-like with liquid oceans full of life. Life in the oceans of those moons could evolve into highly complex lifeforms. Both Europa and Titan could both end up with a wide array of different species as they could become easily habitable.




If a highly advanced civilization exists on Earth at the time of the Red Giant phase of the sun, they would be able to take refuge on both Europa and Titan, and could conceivably live on those moons. The same can be said about other moons of Jupiter and Saturn as well. Perhaps they too may be suitable for life after the sun becomes a red giant.

The concept is quite fascinating and imagine the view from Titan you'd have with majestic Saturn staring back at you. It would be an incredible sight...

I would hope we'd be capable of being there long before the Sun becomes a red giant. In fact, we ought to have left our home solar system well before that.

a reply to: Nurelic

This would actually be a really cool concept for a science fiction novel where the sun has gone supernova earlier than predicted making mankind an endangered species on the galactic frontier. The survivors would naturally be living on Europa and Titan and have to rebuild from there. I love science/scyfy!

a reply to: DecoyTroy

Try Titan by Stephen Baxter. It's close to what you say you're looking for.

a reply to: Nurelic

We are genetically predisposed to exploring what lies over the next hill.
Humanity must NOW endeavor to brave the wilds of space as Columbus once did sailing ever westward while the shores were lined with the meek and timid.
Our destiny lies in the stars and although the current administration seems bent on killing the space program, we have no choice...
Our DNA is hard wired to leave this good planet earth because it is not evermore the eden we currently enjoy.
Earth is, as the op posed, predestined to be engulfed by our beloved sun.
Only in the stars will humanity persist in perpetuity...and it is to them we shall return as from we came.
So let us begin again our baby steps to extra-terrestrial colonization.
-Christosterone

a reply to: ketsuko

Oh, thank you!

a reply to: Nurelic

We have a new member who wrote an introduction about this very same idea proposed in your OP.

Lets hope he sees this thread.

These are fascinating prospects, even purely in the terms of planetary physics.

Titan, though, doesn't have much rock on the surface; all those plains, mountains and valleys are made of water ice. So it would turn into a global water planet, just like Europa.

Setting up extraterrestrial bases and colonies is one thing, but doing it on water is a whole different kettle of fish (to introduce a suitable "watery" idiom here). Bases would have to be anchored in something solid, otherwise we'd all get sea-sick.

originally posted by: wildespace
These are fascinating prospects, even purely in the terms of planetary physics.

Titan, though, doesn't have much rock on the surface; all those plains, mountains and valleys are made of water ice. So it would turn into a global water planet, just like Europa.
............Bases would have to be anchored in something solid, otherwise we'd all get sea-sick.

Not to mention the methane....we would need to constantly bake chocolate chip cookies to mask the smell
But seriously, if we are to reach the stars, we must endeavor to manipulate dna.
Only with alterations to our genome will we be able to traverse the vast expanses of deep space.
Sea sickness is a state we currently are equipped to overcome....sailors refer to it as "getting yor sea legs".
Environmental factors such as atmosphere, gravity, radiation, solar variables and a myriad of other "problems" have solutions in our genetic coding.
I realize this is far fetched at our current technological level but our exponential tech growth is fast shrinking the chasm of the unknown in the field of genetics.
Unfortunately many feel exploring alterations to dna is tantamount to mengele's aryan tendencies. It is not!
Our destiny lies in space and we must learn to adapt our bodies to other worlds as opposed to adapting other worlds to us which is an entirely overwhelming undertaking.
Would it be easier to change mars to earth or simply alter the genome of colonists to survive on its lower gravity and much thinner atmosphere?
Again, we are light years from being able to do this(pun intended) but that is not to say we will be forever.
-Christosterone

There are so many resources out in space that are on planetary bodies that no one or nothing is using that we should get out there. We could theoretically transition our mining and refining and other heavy industry activities out there and it would make our home that much cleaner.

Of course, it also weakens the strong central control TPTB have over us.

originally posted by: Christosterone
Not to mention the methane....we would need to constantly bake chocolate chip cookies to mask the smell

Methane is an odourless gas.

Another thought that occured to me: in 5 billion years, gravitational perturbations, especially tidal forces from their gigantic planets, may move Titan and Europa much closer to the planets. This may mean dangerous radiation and em field, or even disintegration.

originally posted by: wildespace

originally posted by: Christosterone
Not to mention the methane....we would need to constantly bake chocolate chip cookies to mask the smell

Methane is an odourless gas.

Another thought that occured to me: in 5 billion years, gravitational perturbations, especially tidal forces from their gigantic planets, may move Titan and Europa much closer to the planets. This may mean dangerous radiation and em field, or even disintegration.

If Titan were to receive the amount of heating the Earth receives overall through a combination of the Sun's giant phase and tidal heating with Saturn it would lose its atmosphere, its methane seas would boil, its ice would melt and then sublimate to water vapor which would also escape.

The reason it has its thick atmosphere is precisely because it is so cold. Heat it up and it would not persist. Not enough mass nor strong enough magnetic field.

It wouldn't be instant of course but relatively short in cosmic terms (around 5-10 million years).

Well if bouncing planet to planet or moon is the future of mankind then I think that's a fascinating idea. I would like to think that in the next few hundred years we will have bases on all of the solar system bodies that don't have extreme weather conditions. (such as Jupiter or Venus, permanently uninhabitable)

originally posted by: wildespace
Setting up extraterrestrial bases and colonies is one thing, but doing it on water is a whole different kettle of fish (to introduce a suitable "watery" idiom here). Bases would have to be anchored in something solid, otherwise we'd all get sea-sick.

Imagine several massive sea ports that are spread out all over the moon. Each port would be it's own city with buildings, gardens, restaurants... etc.. with huge sea vessels that travel from port to port. If there were big enough stable platforms, then they'd be able to build anything on them. They would just have to "ship" (literally) the materials over there from Earth. Oh, and of course the President of Europa would be Kevin Costner... obviously...

This would actually be a really cool concept for a science fiction novel where the sun has gone supernova earlier than predicted making mankind an endangered species on the galactic frontier. The survivors would naturally be living on Europa and Titan and have to rebuild from there.

The Sun will not go supernova. It isn't massive enough. Anyway, even if it was massive enough to go supernova, the entire Solar System would be obliterated by the event, so there wouldn't be any life anywhere!