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Enceladus

Terraforming Enceladus will be similar to that of Europa except moving it out of Saturn's orbit may not be necessary. The atmosphere would have to have about 0,5 millibars of sulfur hexaflouride, along with orbiting solar mirrors, to increase its temperature to the proper level for human habiatation. Being 55% water-ice, its ocean would cover the moon leaving little or no land. (Enceladus has an internal heat source created by its orbital resonance with Dione, but not enough to melt this ice.) Artificial islands which float, could be built to make plant growth and colonization feasible. It may also be necessary to build a world-wide transparent roof to prevent atmospheric escape.

Enceladus does not have a magnetic field because it lacks a metal core, and although it resides within Saturn's large magnetic field, colonists would still need protection from Saturn's dangerous radiation belts. Part of this belt is created by Enceladus's own polar geysers.

See also: Enceladus Simulation

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