What is the destiny of the moon Enceladus with its under-thick-ice ocean? Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
It will depend on if we find any life in it. Possibly there will be bacterial life, in which case we'll keep some and sterilise the rest for our own use. Ceres has more fresh water than the Earth and is a fair size so I think it will become a space base in future. Enceladus could be another one. However as to settling it, there could be problems with instabilities (Cassini has shown it undergoes some serious tectonics meaning large scale cracking and even water volcanoes), since it undergoes internal heating from the stresses placed on it due to it's close proximity to Saturn. It orbits in the densest part of the E ring (outer) so there could be a problem with micro-meteors (though some theorise that the moon itself could be the source of the E ring.) There is also the possibility of magnetic fields and even radiation
there seems to be little reason. There are far more interesting places to inhabitate closer to the sun where crops can grow and people can actualy live. If people however wan't to visit Saturn they will either choose titan who's the most interesting place due to the oil and other unique aspects of this moon. Or they inhabitade a small rocky asteroidmoon, enceladus has nothing to offer that can't be found easier on some other nearby body.
Is there anyone who would find the prospect of living on the Ice Moon of Jupiter appealing? On the plus side, it's very futuristic to live in such a place. The downside is: everything else. Unless they find something worth mining there, I'd guess there will never be "settlement" on Enceladus.
dude...water... its a fuel source and life source as well. What more can you want? :shrug: There are not that many place with water in Solar Suystem. If I had it my way I would live on Enceladus today if I had the right engineering tools and put my mind to it.
dragon. Everything you take for granted now will have to be worked for there. Air, heat, light, food, etc. It of course has very little gravity so the muscles will become soft there.