Question

It seems that Titan is actually more similar to Earth than Mars. What are the possibilities of terraforming Titan?

Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and the second largest in the solar system, is indeed an interesting place. In some ways it does bear a more superficial resemblance to Earth than Mars--it has an atmosphere and probably even liquid lakes on its surface. The atmosphere is much more dense than ours, with a pressure near the surface of about 1.6 bars, 60 percent greater than the Earth’s. The air is predominantly nitrogen, along with other hydrocarbon elements that give Titan its orange hue. These hydrocarbon-rich elements are the building blocks for amino acids necessary for the formation of life. Many scientists believe that Titan's environment may be similar to that of the Earth's before plants began oxygenating the atmosphere. Despite these similarities, examining Titan from the eyepiece of a telescope may prove a bit deceptive. For example, the surface temperature appears to be about -178°C (-289°F), far too cold to support any known life or to be terraformed without extreme atmospheric changes. Mars, on the other hand, is a great deal closer to the sun, and though its present temperature is also cold (-63° C or -81° F), an added atmosphere may change this considerably. Likewise, we suspect Titan’s lakes to be of liquid ethane, a substance quite disagreeable to life. Furthermore, Titan’s photochemical cycle causes this ethane to be converted into acetylene, ethylene, and (when combined with nitrogen) hydrogen cyanide. The latter is an especially important molecule since it is both a building block of amino acids as well as a toxic chemical to living organisms. The extremes in Titan’s atmosphere and composition would be extraordinarily difficult to overcome. However, our understanding of this mysterious moon is still admittedly shallow. While the prospects for terraforming or colonizing Titan remain bleak, its remarkable difference from other moons and wealth of atmosphere make it a highly desirable object of study. The Cassini space probe launched in 1997 will arrive there in 2004, hopefully providing much greater insight into the workings of Saturn’s giant satellite. The thick atmosphere has so far prevented attempts to better examine its composition. In the mean time, you can learn more about Titan and its future exploration at these websites. http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/features/planets/saturn/titan.html (Titan facts) http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/Science/titan_what.html (Titan detailed info) click here. (overview of Cassini mission to Saturn and Titan)
October 29, 2001