Saturn Moon Could Host A Human Colony, NASA Engineer Says

A NASA engineer in the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) gave a suggestion on a possible place to start a human colony -- in the Saturn moon, Titan.

NASA JPL engineer Janelle Wellons said during a Reddit Q&A with women who work at NASA that Saturn’s Titan moon offers a better option than our moon or Mars when it comes to starting a human colony outside of Earth. The engineer used to work on NASA's Cassini mission in which the spacecraft studied the ringed planet and its moons for years, including the giant satellite, Titan.

"Titan is the only place besides Earth known to have liquids in the form of lakes and seas on its surface. These liquids are made of methane but, armed with the right kind of protective gear, one could theoretically be able to swim without harm," Wellons said.

But more than this, the engineer pointed out that Titan’s thick atmosphere can eventually shield humans from space radiation. Due to this, it is actually possible for humans to “fly."

"It is so dense that we could actually attach wings to our arms and fly on this moon," she said.

Aside from the engineer, NASA chief scientist Jim Green also suggested previously that the moon Titan is a possible site for human colonization.

According to a CNET report, the Saturn moon isn’t really as perfect as it sounds. For one thing, it is very cold in Titan, with a temperature averaging -290 degrees Fahrenheit (-179 degrees Celsius). The moon may be safe enough for people to walk without a spacesuit, but one would still need an oxygen mask and protection from the cold.

Aside from Saturn, the Moon and planet Mars are also seen as possible places for humans to colonize. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk earlier shared his grand plans to start a moon colony before eventually moving to the Red Planet.

Scientists from the U.S., China and Israel have been known for simulating the possible conditions of actually living in Mars. These astronauts stay for days and months in areas which living conditions mimic the harshness and extreme conditions of the fourth planet from the sun.