Io

terrestrial moon

Sol System orbiting Jupiter

G2 - yellow

4332.7 Earth Days

none

none

none

0.183 Standard

10,000  (est. *)

  Initially promising for its colorful surface, researchers later discovered that Io's apparent tranquillity is, in actuality, evidence of its inhospitable and potentially maddening nature. Scattered across the moon's frozen surface, dozens of active valcanos spout molten sulfur from the core, sending it hundreds of kilometers into space.

Once cooled, the sulfur vents on Io pours back down like snow, forever resurfacing the terrain with the otherwise harmless substance. This condition continues to prove a costly and time-consuming irritation for the colonists. Significant measures have to be taken to avoid facilities and equiptment from being buried.

Aside from this annoyance, the only factors that are less than ideal are Io's enormous distance from Earth, its bitter cold temperatures, and its lack of life-sustaining resources. The first two conditions Io shares with its sibling contender, Europa, and are even more pressing for the remote moon of Titan.

A final concern: colonies need to be established far from the equator on Io. It is caught in a three-way tug-of-war between the gravitational pulls of Europa, Ganymede, and Jupiter. This forces an unstable tidal current on the moon's outer layer which can bend and stretch its width by as much as 100 meters.

Other Details:

Surface Temperature: -143 ºC

Distance from Sun: 5.2 Astronomical Units

Distance from Earth: 630 Million Kilometers

Axis Rotation: Static

Solar Orbit Period (year): 4332.71 Earth Days

Planerary Orbit Period (day): 1.77 Earth Days

Diameter: 3630 Kilometers

Surface Composition: Sulfur

Atmospheric Pressure: 0 Bar

 
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Comments, criticisms, suggestions, and additions welcome! E-mail Dan Fournel at nexus@fournel.org

 

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This page was last edited on: December 21, 2021

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