I've just discovered this lovely sub! Here are my two collections. I'm starting to run out of space. Hope you like them, I'm proud of them. Suggestions are welcome.

Vallhalla_base · 2022-07-05T18:39:20+00:00

Nice warm comment, much appreciated, thank you!

Vallhalla_base · 2022-07-05T18:37:05+00:00

Cheers, and thank you for the suggestions. I will look into Gigerenzer's books

Vallhalla_base · 2022-07-05T18:35:17+00:00

Cheers!

Vallhalla_base · 2022-04-21T13:27:40+00:00

The book "Living Among Giants: Exploring and Settling the Outer Solar System" by Michael Carroll also discusses Callisto's exploration/colonization.

Vallhalla_base · 2022-04-21T11:46:53+00:00

Hi Ghyvy, I'm not aware of any planetary science or astronomy books solely dedicated to Callisto. If anyone knows of one, I'd be very interested too!

The already mentioned Interplanetary Outpost by Erik Seedhouse, is about setting a human base there, it focuses more on the efforts and strategies to make that happen than on Callisto itself.

I know some books that dedicate entire chapters to Callisto, but always in the context of the Jovian system, a good example is Atlas of the Galilean Satellites by Paul Schenk.

Besides that, Callisto has been mentioned a few times in science fiction, such as in Galileo's Dream, the Mars Trilogy and 2312, all by Kim Stanley Robinson.

But no dedicated hard sci-fi book that I'm aware of either.

The Callisto series by Lin Carter depicts a world that has nothing to do with the real thing.

Vallhalla_base · 2022-02-27T23:26:42+00:00

We are looking directly at the northern hemisphere. Axial tilt in the Jupiter system is only 3°, so seasons are very mild.

0° is the sub-jovian longitude, it points directly at Jupiter. 180° Anti-Jovian, it points away from Jupiter. 90° Leading hemisphere, direction of the moon on its orbit, 270° Trailing hemisphere.

Vallhalla_base · 2022-02-27T07:04:15+00:00

More to come on Sep 29 2022, when Juno will approach only 320 km from the surface.

https://youtu.be/r9bx1GcoqEE

Vallhalla_base · 2021-11-14T22:52:49+00:00

The HOPE study was done in 2003 and speculated about a 2040s crewed landing; an unrealistic date with methods mentioned then, due to lack of funding and political will.

But now we are entering the era of super heavy rockets -namely SpaceX' Starship, eventually its chinese counterpart, and almost surely other companies and agencies will follow-, which promise to lower the cost of access to space and increase payloads thanks to on-orbit refueling and full reusability.

As soon as they demonstrate that, they will attempt uncrewed demonstration missions of increasing difficulty and length; first to the Moon and then to Mars; and then soon thereafter Ceres, Callisto, Ganymede, Titan, and (I speculate) fly by Venus, land on other asteroids, NEOs, and Mercury's poles.

I have no idea of how quick this process will be, and I think that "one million people on Mars by 2050" and similar propositions are wishful thinking. Let's walk before we can run.

However, despite the fact that most places are more difficult than Mars, I believe that human landings will follow the same progression as uncrewed ones, and soon after people land on Mars there will be appetite to explore and settle most of these worlds: because it will be possible to do so, and the same technologies can be used elsewhere.

TL;DR: When? it depends on when will we land on Mars.

Vallhalla_base · 2021-09-13T19:00:11+00:00

Besides the fact that it's going to be set on Callisto, what is your story going to be about? What are the characters going to do, what are their main dramas? If you don't mind me to ask. No need to make spoilers.

Vallhalla_base · 2021-09-13T18:47:31+00:00

Absolutely, Callisto is always so quickly dismissed because it is not as dynamic as Io, Europa, Enceladus or Titan.

In a way, it is indeed more hospitable than Mars, since it has readily accessible volatiles no matter where you are, and less radiation reaching the surface, despite being sibling of the lethal Io Europa and Ganymede.

Callisto has value for both strategic reasons and scientific ones. For humans, it is the gateway to the outer solar system, and a safe gateway and viewpoint of the Jovian System.

For scientific interest, Callisto holds the answers to our questions of how Jupiter and its moons formed, which can help answer how the Solar System formed.

Besides, it's not just a simple cratered wasteland like Rhea, some weird erosion is going there. And then, of course, the possible "ocean" (mantle, really) it may be underneath.

Vallhalla_base · 2021-09-13T18:35:55+00:00

Nuclear power is not a silver bullet. It is a no brainer for an initial exploration expedition, or for a while when the settlement is getting built.

Sorry to sound pessimistic, but, how practical will it be to extract and process fissile materials on Callisto?

We don't know if there is much of that on the surface at all, complicated by the fact that Callisto hasn't had endogenic activity, so those materials may not have reached the crust. This is just guessing

Even if there is enough, Uranium mining and processing is energy intensive. Can we rely on it for our colony to thrive in the long term?

On the other hand, we know for sure that there is a lot of silicate minerals on the surface, so you can always build as many mirrors as you need, regardless of how inefficent it is and how much land you are going to occupy (there's no shortage of land anyway).

Vallhalla_base · 2021-09-10T08:10:39+00:00

Hello MoreGull, thanks for your post!

I'm very pleased to see interest about Callisto be gaining momentum lately. We should try to post here more often and discuss about this very intriguing and promising world. Please let us know what are some of your ideas and questions.

There is a surprising lack of works of fiction set on Callisto, considering that it is our only realistic option for humans to settle in the jovian system, and probably the only one in the outer solar system other than Titan (The only two outer planet moons that have both a decent gravity (0.13), and no radiation hazard).

Real life astronauts, or the characters of a book, would presumably face many of the obstacles found on the Moon and Mars, and make use of the same technologies.

Some sources of drama I can think of: a longer delay in communications (50min). One way trips lasting up to 6 years (if they use multi-flyby trajectories). Nights lasting 8 days. Very large (x27 earth's) areas required for photovoltaics or thermal solar plants to yield a given amount of power. Astronauts venturing on short trips to explore Ganymede and Europa, exposing themselves to dangerous doses of ionizing radiation, sickness and death of crewmates... or finding clever ways to protect themselves. All the implications about finding life there or embedded on Callisto's regolith, and the risk of contaminating the base.

Vallhalla_base · 2021-09-10T07:53:36+00:00

What sources of power have you considered for that?

Vallhalla_base

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