[PU-NE] Project Krios - Part 2

Instructions

Judging the Gem Wars to have been put on hold, the Caribbean has made room over the years for investment into Project Krios, a long-term initiative that seeks to terraform Saturn’s largest moon Titan and make it suitable for human life. 10 years on, and they have made good progress. The Caribbean would fold around Titan a web of satellite lasers, focusing energy from the Dyson Swarm. These would shoot lasers through volcanoes, geysers and vents into the moon’s upper mantle. The purpose of this is twofold. Firstly, Titan’s surface temperature (-179.5°C) is far too cold to sustain any kind of life. Thus, since surface temperature mainly derives from the temperature of the inner core, the lasers are aimed at drastically heating up the inside of the moon. And, through convection currents in the mantle, the heat will eventually spread throughout the upper layers of Titan and compress around the metal core, which will subsequently heat up drastically. This is one of the many methods that are being employed to artificially heat Titan up to a climate hospitable for long-term life. And even once the lasers stop firing, the heat will nevertheless be trapped in the moon as it is one of the only bodies in the Solar System to host a magnetic field. The heating process has taken several years thus far, and is expected to continue for ages. Titan’s core temperature has been raised substantially, but we are yet to see this translate into a higher surface temperature. Secondly, Titan hosts many methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6) lakes, as well as compact ice deposits beneath its surface. The satellites would project intense radiation beams which function effectively like lasers. They would focus enough energy at Titan’s sub-surface ice (through geysers and vents) to split it into oxygen and dihydrogen which would be released into the air. The reaction is as follows: 2 H20 -> 2 H2 + O2 (water) (dihydrogen) (oxygen) In the modern day it takes 50–55 kW⋅h to produce 1kg of hydrogen through water splitting, so unlimited energy from the Sun is almost certainly enough to power long-term beams at Titan’s surface potent enough to administer the reaction. Then, when released into the air, the oxygen particles of course would come into contact en masse with the methane and ethane lakes. So, the following reactions would take place: CH4 + 2 O2 -> CO2 + 2 H2O (methane) (oxygen) (carbon dioxide) (water) C2H6 + 3.5 O2 -> 2 CO2 + 3 H2O (ethane) (oxygen) (carbon dioxide) (water) While Titan’s temperatures are obviously still far too cold to sustain liquid water, this would form long stretches of compact ice above the surface, which will become bodies of water - a necessary prerequisite for life - when the moon is sufficiently heated. Also, according to my (though likely incorrect) calculations, the rough volume of CO2 gas released into the air from these reactions would be a similar proportion - in relation to the rest of the air - as on Earth, meaning it would be a good amount for the sustenance of life. This is because it would be just enough for photosynthesis to take place, but not so much that the atmosphere is rendered inhospitable.