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John Timmer at Ars Technica reports:
So, why Titan? The two closer destinations, the Moon and Mars, have atmospheres that are effectively nonexistent. That means any habitation will have to be extremely robust to hold its contents in place. Both worlds are also bathed in radiation, meaning those habitats will need to be built underground, as will any agricultural areas to feed the colonists. Any activities on the surface will have to be limited to avoid excessive radiation exposure.
Would anyone want to go to a brand-new world just to spend their lives in a cramped tunnel? Hendrix and Wohlforth suggest the answer will be "no." Titan, in contrast, offers a dense atmosphere that shields the surface from radiation and would make any structural failures problematic, rather than catastrophic. With an oxygen mask and enough warm clothing, humans could roam Titan's surface in the dim sunlight. Or, given the low gravity and dense atmosphere, they could float above it in a balloon or on personal wings.
The vast hydrocarbon seas and dunes, Hendrix and Wohlforth suggest, would allow polymers to handle many of the roles currently played by metal and wood. Drilling into Titan's crust would access a vast supply of liquid water in the moon's subsurface ocean. It's not all the comforts of home, but it's a lot more of them than you'd get on the Moon or Mars.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday May 15 2017, @03:53AM (7 children)
Maybe 4.9% CH4 and 0.2% H2 can be handled. But you surely identified another important issue. Fail to decontaminate .. *BOOM* Just like in the Martian movie where the airlock blows up, but this one will be for real.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Monday May 15 2017, @04:04AM (6 children)
Provided the cyanide doesn't kill you first. 70 parts per million and you're dead in an hour.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday May 15 2017, @04:07AM
It's supposedly "trace amounts". The question then becomes how large proportion there really is?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by kaszz on Monday May 15 2017, @04:57AM (4 children)
I found the answer in Solar System Astrophysics: Planetary Atmospheres and the Outer Solar System (2014) [google.com] by AvEugene F. Milone,William J.F. Wilson on page 560. Which states that:
And as for toxicity:
Hydrogen cyanide: LClo 107 ppm (human, 10 min)
Cyanoacetylene: LDlo? LD50?
Cyanogen: Recommended exposure limit, 10 ppm
Ethane: Suffocation risk only, ie replacing oxygen
Ethylene: Daily exposure limit, 200 ppm
Acetylene: Recommended exposure limit, 2500 ppm
It actually seems the atmosphere might be alright from a acute toxicity point of view. Though no MSDS for cyanoacetylene..
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Dunbal on Monday May 15 2017, @05:04AM (3 children)
The problem is not necessarily in the atmosphere. At these temperatures (-179 C) a lot of the above compounds will be in solid form so they won't be "in the atmosphere". But you thought bringing slush covered muddy boots into the house was bad, wait until you get melting/boiling cyanide and all those other toxics all over your little moonbase carpet...
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday May 15 2017, @05:26AM (2 children)
I think you can scrub those compounds away. And it can be handled like on Mars where the outside of the suit never enters the habitat due to dust.
Can't find any data on what the soil consists of. But atmospheric gases are unlikely to solidify on a shoe that has a higher temperature than the surrounding atmosphere.
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Monday May 15 2017, @06:08AM (1 child)
Just to a flash burnoff in your airlock / decon room.
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Interesting) by kaszz on Monday May 15 2017, @06:13AM
Don't need to fill the airlock with oxygen. It can be filled with room tempered nitrogen instead which will vaporize most stuff. While not enabling any burning. The Titan atmosphere is full of N2.