Let Me Explain Why It Would Be Preferable To Colonize Titan Instead Of Mars!

Until now, most researchers have considered the Moon or Mars as the ideal targets for the first step in colonizing our solar system. These destinations have the dual advantage of being close enough to Earth and presenting surface environments that are not entirely hostile to current technological capabilities. Among other possible destinations, Mercury is too close to the Sun, with extreme temperatures and other physical conditions that seem difficult to overcome. Venus is much closer, but its atmosphere is poisonous, extremely heavy, and scorching due to uncontrolled greenhouse effects.
However, even though the Moon and Mars may seem like relatively reasonable destinations, they also have fundamental problems. Neither of these planets is protected by a magnetic field or a significant atmosphere, which would force any future colonizers to live in underground shelters to protect themselves from deadly cosmic radiation. And just so you know, is there anyone among you who would want to go to a brand new world only to spend their life in an underground tunnel?
In fact, this is a problem for which no solution has been found, so much so that more than a few expert planetologists have recently begun to suggest that the ideal goal to attempt to build the first human colony is neither the Moon nor the Red Planet... but Titan, Saturn's large moon!

The atmosphere of Titan shields the surface from cosmic radiation.
Without an atmosphere dense enough to protect their surface from solar radiation, especially galactic cosmic radiation, any colony would ideally have to be located underground.

You wouldn't need a pressurized suit on Titan's surface.
Most rocky planets and all other moons in the solar system have little more than traces of an atmosphere.
Even Mars' atmosphere is little denser than a typical laboratory vacuum here on Earth.
Titan hosts the richest nitrogen atmosphere in the solar system.
Titan hosts the richest known nitrogen atmosphere, so colonists would only need to add oxygen, using the existing nitrogen as a buffer, to create breathable air.

Titan has rivers, lakes, and seas.
Titan is the only object in the solar system, apart from Earth, known to host significant amounts of surface liquids. In fact, it showcases seas, rivers, lakes, and even rain and glaciers, just like our world.

However, even though it's not visible, there is an abundance of water!
At temperatures twice as cold as the coldest ever recorded on Earth, water on Titan's surface will be permanently frozen and as hard as granite. However, even though there isn't an internal salty ocean, there is still a lot of frozen water on the moon's surface and locked in the rocks below.
The seas of Titan could provide polymers for construction.
With its practically infinite supply of liquid and solid hydrocarbons, Titan also has everything colonists would need to build a permanent shelter.

There is so much nitrogen in Titan's atmosphere that we could use it as fertilizer just like we do here on Earth.
Although Titan is inhospitable in itself, it seems to contain everything needed to build a completely self-sufficient colony, which would be vital given its great distance from Earth (1.2 billion km).

Resources Nearby: The Saturnian system hosts 62 moons and multiple rings composed of billions of icy particles.
Although Titan represents almost all the mass orbiting Saturn and is by far the largest moon of the planet, the abundance of other bodies in the Saturnian system also presents significant economic and exploratory potential.

We Could Even Fly There.
By far the simplest and most economical way to explore Titan would be to simply put on a pair of wings and... fly! Due to its small size and low density, Titan has a surface gravity of only about 14% of that of Earth, which is slightly less than that of our Moon.
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DISCUSSIONS & SOCIAL MEDIA

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00:00 Intro
02:28 Titan Briefing
03:20 The atmosphere of Titan
04:50 You wouldn't need a pressurized suit on Titan's surface.
05:43 Titan hosts the richest nitrogen atmosphere
06:40 Titan has rivers, lakes and seas
10:15 Resources nearby
11:02 We could even fly there
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#insanecuriosity #colonizemars #colonizetitan

[AsterothPrime]

Seeing Saturn looming in the sky each day would make the -180C worth it.

[tayzonday]

Atmospheric pressure and magnetosphere protection are big factors. Titan getting both right might ultimately be more workable. We can learn to get there faster.

It may also be the most plausible to colonize with intelligent robots. We would possibly have robots build infrastructure before human habitation, since they need no oxygen. We need to increase our production of radioisotope thermoelectric generators!

[hgbugalou]

Tidal forces from Saturn would need to be addressed. There may be massive moonquakes almost constantly because of it which would make building things hard.

[Yutaro-Yoshii]

Anyone who built on siberian permafrost knows that building on ice brings on a whole new engineering challenge.
Underground structure and soil cultivation immediately goes out the window, as heating up the ground would melt or sublimate it.
You need to build everything, including your farm, on top of an air gapped structure, and that does not sound easy at all.

[muskyoxes]

I just want Saturn in the sky, but seems like it'd be too cloudy to see it

[kevinparker]

Theres a reason nobody lives in Antarctica. Titans is well over 100 degrees colder and only gets 1 percent of the sunlight earth gets. It would be a crazy challenge to keep any machine from freezing. Its not a realistic choice with our current technology but its fun to imagine. Either way you need to live need to live in some dome meaning you might as well live on mars. Its still a better choice.

[theKeshaWarrior]

Titan is my favourite body in the solar system but I have seen NASA talk about how it is much easier to survive no magnetic field at all than it is to survive Saturn's (and especially Jupiter's) magnetic field interacting with their satellites so I still think Mars is first on the list.

[handsfree]

We currently have two astronauts stranded on the space station. Imagine trying to rescue people from Titan. It takes years to get there and years to get back.

[vast]

One advantage: the buildings dont need to be pressurized. They just need to separate the internal and external atmospheres, that can be kept on the same pressure. Structures could be build as large tents (support frames and some layers of heat-isolating foil).

[davidgardner]

It seems to me that you would need to keep an even higher air pressure in a habitat to prevent the intrusion of methane where it would mix with oxygen with disastrous results. Also any failure in heating of a space suit or habitat would result in instant freezing.

[takotako]

If only we started with a planet that was perfect for life

[powerzx]

I think that much easier would be to do smaller steps. Start with the base on the Moon, build some factories there, then do the same on the Mars.

[leafybotanist]

I still think floating habitats on Venus would be a fun and workable trial for extra-planetary exploration. You can have floating habitats at around 30ish miles up, and still maintain protection from radiation with the thick atmosphere above you. The habitat could ride the winds and circle the planet every 48 hours giving a reasonable day/night cycle. You have close to Earth gravity and ample access to solar and wind generated power.

The big problem of course is access to materials, and that we need improved marerials that can withstand sulfuric acid clouds. But damn it would be fun!

[skeptibleiyam]

What is the difference between having to stay indoors/underground because of cold and unbreathable atmosphere and having to stay indoors/underground because of cold, unbreathable atmosphere and radiation?

[K.Maroon]

We can't even colonize the Sahara desert or Antarctica

[seaninflorida]

Why not Ganymede? It's closer than Titan, it actually leaks oxygen and has a salty ocean underneath its icy surface

[timothyvanhoeck]

1:08 You'd have to live that way regardless because to date we've yet to find a world similar to our own in terms of size, mass, temperature and atmospheric composition and thickness, around a star similar to our own that is neither too active nor advanced in terms of stellar ageing.

Also, you'd need a crap ton of oxygen, which would be catastrophic on a hydrocarbon-rich world like Titan (you may as well be planning to blow the entire Saturnian moon up).

[Redmenace]

Already learned something: I thought the moons of Jupiter were leading candidates. I thought Titan was a moon of Jupiter.
Thank you!

[The_Flamekeepers]

I would take a floating city on Venus (above the sulfuric acid clouds) over Mars or Titan any day.

[Redmenace]

Oh, snap. 7:15 has the best view on Titan. "Love the suit."