As Team Leader of the Deep Freeze Folk, it was my responsibility to organize all of the research pooled together by my Technical Advisor and Systems Engineer and compile it into a presentation that was not only accurate and educational, but a little fun too. This is the last quarter of my undergraduate degree, and along with nearly six years in the Army Reserves and a ton of presentations under my belt, I have found that getting people to laugh helps foster attention and learning.
The information our team was able to gather was indeed factual, with former, current, and future NASA missions as our main source of information. However, when it comes to the colonization of a celestial body that is far beyond our current capabilities, it involves some science fiction, many hypotheticals, and a lot of imagination. The following information will include a description of Europa, along with the resources needed for the trip, and then the defense portion of our mission. Europa is one of Jupiter’s sixty-seven known moons and was discovered by Galileo in 1610.
It has a metallic core and a rocky interior, but is covered by an icy layer thought to be approximately sixty-two miles thick. Underneath that layer of ice, is thought to be a giant ocean that could potentially be the best place in our solar system for life to be found. Europa is the only other place in our solar system that has tectonic plates and because of the shifting of plates and the tidal forces from orbiting Jupiter, it might also have a volcanic seafloor that could contain hydrothermal vents like the ones found in Earth’s deepest oceans.
Along with having an ocean, potentially, Europa has an atmosphere of oxygen and produces ten times as much oxygen as it does hydrogen, which is very comparable to Earth, but sadly it would be to tenuous for humans to breathe because the atmosphere is very thin. Due to it’s icy surface, Europa has one of the most reflective moons in the solar system and also one of the smoothest surfaces. The moon’s gravity is around thirteen percent of Earth’s gravity, which makes for some fun jumping around, but unfortunately it is subject to deadly solar radiation and bitter cold (between -260 and -370 degrees).
Although Europa has some negative qualities, our group determined that the pros outweigh the cons, and that it would still be one of the best destinations to colonize in our solar system. In order to travel anywhere, you either need to bring resources or the place must have resources. Fortunately, in the case of colonizing Europa there will be water available which is extremely useful. Food on the other hand, won’t be so easy to acquire. Developing hydroponic stations and potential farming stations take time to build and in the case of colonizing Europa, we will have that time.
However, on the initial trip we will have to use food that is currently being worked on by NASA researchers. Its not necessarily the food itself that is being developed, rather the process in which the food is preserved. Currently, the food being sent into space is preserved and sterilized using high heat and a little pressure. This results in food that tastes good and maintains it’s nutritional value for an extended amount of time, but not as long as it will take to get to Europa.
NASA has partnered with the military to look into new ways of preserving food, such as: high pressure processing and microwave sterilization. With these methods of preserving food, it will last much longer and maintain it’s nutritional value, while also allowing for the possibility of sending food ahead of time in a care package type-of-way. In the long run, building hydroponic stations, larger ones than the one on the International Space Station (ISS), will allow for a healthy, sustainable way for people to eat on their new home of Europa.
There is the potential of bringing fish eggs, and after the initial setup is complete, making a small fish farm that would be sustainable and healthy (which reminds me of the sustainable aquarium in the underground bunker, from the movie “Blast from the Past”). In addition to food and water, is air and that will be taken care of from our spacesuit’s Portable Life Support System when we’re out and about on Europa. However, while we set up our settlement camp, and eventual colony, we will be utilizing NASA’s Environment Control and Life Support System (ECLSS).
The ECLSS is an amazing development in technology that provides oxygen and potable water, while removing carbon dioxide and volatile organic trace gases from the air. It also maintains air pressure, as well as regulates temperature and humidity. The ECLSS can pretty much do it all and we’re looking forward to continuing to advance its technology and features. As far as energy goes, we can only rely on solar power so much as we are much farther from the sun than here on Earth, yet Europa is abundant in oxygen and hydrogen which will be useful in developing hydrogen fuel cells.
With hydrogen fuel cells, we can convert the hydrogen that is escaping through Europa’s thin atmosphere, and put it to work as a safe, reliable, and efficient energy source. Communication is rather easy as most communication is done through satellites. However, if you want to send an email from Europa it will take about thirty minutes to reach Earth and definitely try to make sure that Jupiter’s not blocking your way! General resources and materials that will be available to us throughout our mission will come from Europa and nearby asteroids.
Water is key to our survival and it is in abundance on Europa and will be used in most construction phases (outlined in systems engineer plan). As far as materials to build and construct things out of, we will need to rely on our near-future missions to mine asteroids and see what materials we are able to gather. It is too costly and difficult to construct everything on Earth and bring it into space, there wouldn’t be enough resources to send all that mass in the first place.
That is why it is key to developing resourcing plans so our colonization of Europa will be a success. Currently, the ISS is testing and developing materials that can withstand deadly radiation, as well as other purposes. These materials, i. e. clothes, shielding, etc. , will be used on our mission to absorb or deflect the deadly radiation on Europa. Transportation will be dependent upon the successful integration of the Orion spaceships, along with the new Space Launch System rocket.
As we extend the human race’s capabilities to the colonization of our solar system, it is indeed a real possibility that this might trigger an encounter with an alien species. The Manhattan Project that was carried out during World War II by the United States, resulted in the detonation of the first atomic bomb nearly eighty years ago and since then, over two-thousand atomic bombs detonations have been tested across the globe.
During that time, an increase of UFO sightings has been reported around the world and that could most certainly be attributed to the interconnectivity of the world through the internet but it could also be intelligent alien life observing our growing capabilities. In the case that we encounter aliens on our trip that have been summoned by our threatening ability to colonize, or the possibility that there is alien life on Europa, we will be bringing weapons.
As silly as it sounds, bringing swords would actually be much more efficient than guns and all the ammunition that is required, which translates to weight, and it would also be an excellent source of physical conditioning for our space explorers. Flamethrowers would be efficient at eliminating any hostile alien microbes trying to seep into our spacesuits and phasers, although not currently available, would be extremely useful as peaceful means, potentially lethal, in keeping the peace on our colony (see technical advisor plan for law enforcement/societal concerns).
Our best chance at keeping any advanced hostile alien race would be the Magneto Hydrodynamic Explosive Munition (MAHEM) and InterContinental Ballistic Missiles with nuclear warheads. The former being able to shoot liquid metal at insanely high-speeds and efficiency, while the latter has a minimum distance of six-thousand miles and is the biggest ‘boom’ weapon we currently have.
Resources and defense are of critical importance for our mission to Europa, and because of this importance, the most cutting-edge technology and innovative ideas have been brought before you in our plan to colonize Europa. Our timeline for launch starts around 2087, with an expected arrival date of two to three years as our technology increases. The initial setup will take one to two years, while the colony will expand to one-hundred people three years from arrival on Europa.
After ten years of being on Europa, we expect to have mining and scientific exploration sites set-up, relaying information and resources to our orbital junction which will serve as our arrival/departure gate to other space colonies and Earth. Wish us luck on our journey to Europa, for this mission will lead to the advancement of the human race in both innovation and spirit. It is in our destiny to explore the universe and in the words of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, “We are on a journey to keep an appointment with whatever we are. ”
