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Confession Of A Planetary Scientist: 'I Do Not Want To Live On Mars'

Mars is not compelling as a long-term human destination, says guest blogger Amanda Hendrix. But there's a place in our solar system where conditions are right: Saturn's Moon Titan.
A composite image of Saturn's moon Titan taken by the Cassini spacecraft.

I am a planetary scientist and once astronaut candidate finalist (read: space nerd).

But I have something to confess: I do not want to live on Mars.

While certainly interesting scientifically (e.g., seasonally-varying polar caps; transient methane plumes; permafrost), Mars is not particularly compelling as a long-term human destination.

But there is another place in our solar system where conditions are right for a self-sustaining, long-term human settlement: Saturn's moon Titan.

Why Titan?

To start with, let's make clear that Titan is a moon that, in many ways, acts more like a planet. It has a thick atmosphere, with about 1.5 times the surface pressure of Earth's atmosphere. None of the 177 other

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