Getting to Know Your Own Backyard | Monday, Period 2

[futurespacemom]

"So, it looks like this week, we're heading for the big one," Kanan said, once the class had gathered in front of the Ghost. "We won't be making a landing on this one, partly because the weather there leaves something to be desired, and partly because nobody wants to find out what it's like to suddenly weigh over double what you normally do. Little things like walking get tricky. I don't recommend it."

Plus there was that whole thing where the atmospheric pressure of the planet was high enough to convert hydrogen and helium to liquid. You didn't want to be twice as heavy and also swimming. Never mind the layer of liquid metallic hydrogen underneath that. Gas planets were cool, but not super great for casual strolls.

Not that anybody on Earth was even certain if Jupiter had some sort of solid surface anywhere on it.

"That said," he added, "the planet's got something like seventy moons, of which only fifty-three have been named so far. I think they ran out of goddesses or something. After doing a Jupiter fly-by, we could probably get out and take a stroll around one of those with a lot less 'being crushed alive' to worry about."

Also, that many moons was just overkill. Calm down, Jupiter.

"This one's called Jupiter," Hera added, amused. Kanan, start with the basics. "We're not even sure if there is a surface to land on, so yeah, just a fly-by. And it's closer in its orbit right now than Mars was, so it shouldn't take too long to get there."

And soon they were there, looking at Jupiter from pretty far out as Hera avoided its dust ring.

"It's pretty active down there," she noted. "Some of those storms are bigger than your planet. And check out that one." She pointed toward it. "That's several times bigger. Hope they never need to mine this gas."

While they flew by and took reading, Hera was also checking out the moons Kanan had mentioned. "Looks like our best option for a landing might be Europa," she said. "It's frozen solid at the surface, far enough down to support our weight, and smooth as anything." She called up an image of it. "We'll still need the envirosuits, though. I hope everyone's got them down by now."