How long would your lifespan be on these planets? One day, we will have to leave the Earth. As the sun grows larger, we will be forced to flee the solar system. This is what we know to be true, and this is what will occur in a few billion years if we do not destroy our planet first. This is why scientists are searching the universe for exoplanets and habitable planets. But is there a comparable planet? What would a typical day look like on other planets in our solar system? Come and discover!
MERCURY
If you visit Mercury, you will encounter a smaller gravitational field, which means…your mass will remain the same, but you will feel significantly lighter than you do on Earth! This is because Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system. It is a rocky planet because it is only 36 million miles (58 million km) from the Sun. Being so close to the star, there is only a small amount of space for volatile components, which are primarily found in the atmosphere and are made up of oxygen (O2), sodium (Na), hydrogen (H2), helium (He), and potassium (K) (K). Mercury is not the hottest planet in our solar system, despite its proximity to the Sun; that distinction belongs to Venus, which has a denser atmosphere. Even though a day on Mercury is equivalent to approximately 59 days on Earth, your trip would not last that long. This is because you will experience strange temperature fluctuations. The sunny half of Mercury reaches 430 degrees Celsius; it’s extremely hot! On the opposite hand, temperatures drop to -180 degrees Celsius. Your best bet would be to find a comfortable spot in the middle. However, I cannot recommend that you do so, as you would be unable to breathe on this planet. The unique atmosphere of Mercury prevents you from surviving longer than two minutes. Perhaps it would be preferable to determine the likelihood of surviving on Venus.
VENUS
First of all, I regret to inform you that, despite the fact that you won’t be bored on Venus, it will feel as if you are, because one day on Venus is…243 Earth days long! It is so! The rate of Venus’s rotation is such that the planet completes an orbit around its axis in 243 Earth days. Also, you should anticipate extremely high temperatures, as Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. Its maximum temperature approaches 475 degrees Celsius. If we ever decide to land on Venus, we must first ensure that our spacecraft is extremely durable, or it will melt. But even if we managed to land on Earth, it would be difficult to breathe. In fact, the amount of carbon in Venus’ atmosphere is absurdly high: it is approximately 154,000 times greater than the amount of carbon in the atmosphere of Earth! In addition, the clouds are composed of sulfuric acid, which gives them a distinctive yellow hue. Oh, I forgot to mention that sulfuric acid is toxic, so I would not recommend living there. I mean, you would likely die within a few seconds.
MARS
It is commonly believed that Mars could become our new home. But could it be true? Perhaps if we were able to alter its atmosphere. On Mars, a day is slightly longer than 24 hours, so the timescale is quite similar to the one we, as humans, are accustomed to. This evil atmosphere, however, would kill us due to its composition of carbon dioxide, argon, nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor. Last but not least, we should investigate Mars’s temperature. This location is very cold! The average temperature on Mars is -62 degrees Celsius. NASA is already considering the type of habitat required to survive on Mars’ surface. In 2016, six companies initiated the design of potential habitat prototypes, with the completion of prototypes anticipated 24 months later. All of these habitats must be self-sufficient, protected from the thin atmosphere, and capable of supporting life for extended periods of time without assistance from Earth. To get a sense of what to expect, consider the International Space Station. We’ll need environmental control and life support systems, power systems, docking ports, and airlocks so that crew members can perform spacewalks to fix broken components or add new capacities. During the first manned mission to Mars, hefty, durable equipment will travel across the galaxy. Whatever the astronauts use must be able to withstand the lengthy trip.
With powerful spacecraft, we could theoretically land on Mercury, Venus, and Mars, despite the difficulty of the task. However, what if I told you there was no possibility of landing on Jupiter? It is so! Jupiter is a gas giant with no solid surface on which to land. Someone has described Jupiter as a “missing star” despite the fact that it is a massive ball of gas. This planet is more than twice as massive as all the other planets in our solar system combined due to its enormous amount of gas. And there is no contribution from rocks! Hydrogen, helium, and cold, windy clouds of ammonia and water are the principal components of the atmosphere. We are able to orbit Jupiter and fly by it, as the Juno mission did in a polar orbit. Jupiter rotates extremely rapidly. A day lasts roughly 10 hours on Earth. Humans would essentially spend the entire day sleeping if they were to land there. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but that enormous red spot on Jupiter is actually a storm. And the bad news is…whether you believe me or not, the storm is larger than Earth. It’s known as the “Great Red Spot. If you fell into Jupiter, you would quickly collide with the planet’s denser atmosphere, which would act as a wall. However, it will not be enough to stop you. In roughly three minutes, you will reach the cloud tops, 155 miles below. You will experience the full force of Jupiter’s rotation here. Jupiter is the planet with the fastest rotation in our solar system. A day on Earth lasts approximately 9.5 hours. This generates strong winds that can circumnavigate the planet at speeds exceeding 300 mph. Approximately 75 miles beneath the clouds is the limit of human exploration. In 1995, the Galileo probe reached this point when it entered Jupiter’s atmosphere. It lasted only 58 minutes before losing contact and being obliterated by crushing pressure. If you descended 429 miles (692 kilometers), you would encounter higher pressure than at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest location on Earth. Due to Jupiter’s temperature of -140 degrees Celsius, you could not survive on the planet for even a second.
Saturn
Like Jupiter, is a giant planet with no surface. The winds on Saturn can reach up to 1,118 miles per hour (1,800 kilometers per hour), and I doubt you would survive. But even if you did, you would eventually need to breathe. And this is the real issue. Hydrogen and helium, which comprise the atmosphere, would render it unbreathable. If you prefer warm weather or are looking for a warm place to retire, you could construct your home within Saturn’s rings. Saturn is a frozen world located 887 million miles from the sun, but its core is extremely hot. But perhaps you would have better luck on one of the planet’s moons. As an example, consider Enceladus. When NASA’s Cassini spacecraft observed Saturn’s small, icy moon spewing water into space, it captivated the imaginations of people all over the world. This water originates from a global ocean of liquid hidden beneath Enceladus’ fractured crust. From 2008 to 2015, as Cassini flew through Enceladus’ plumes, its mass spectrometer detected a variety of organic molecules—the building blocks of life—emanating from the moon’s ocean. Cassini detected the presence of molecular hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and rock fragments within the moon’s plumes. Who said that a planet is the most comfortable place for humans? Perhaps we could inhabit the moon.
URANUS
Let us relocate to Uranus. Uranus has approximately 17-hour days. Again, there will be no landing here. Perhaps a flyby, as diving into its atmosphere would render you unable to breathe. To your surprise, you will notice blue skies, just like at home. However, blue skies on Uranus differ significantly from those on Earth. Your world’s blue skies are currently the result of methane gas in abundance. Helium, methane, and hydrogen are terrible combinations for an atmosphere’s constituents. In addition, if you could smell it, it would smell like rotten eggs. Oh, and if you’ve ever wished that summer on Earth lasted longer, living on Uranus might be the ideal situation for you, as it lasts approximately 41 years. However, if you have ever observed the sky through a telescope, you may have noticed a pale blue dot: the Earth. Therefore, you might become homesick! And I regret to inform you that the trip back to Earth to visit friends will take approximately 43 million hours at highway speeds. You would perish in under a second.
NEPTUNE
Last but not least, Neptune. How could we possibly live on it? Priorities come first. There is no location “on” Neptune; only in Neptune. Neptune is a surfaceless gas planet. To survive within Neptune, one could not descend too deeply due to the intense heat and pressure. You would need everything to survive in a hostile environment: air, water, food, energy, waste disposal, and a system to keep out the high pressure (or in if you were very high in its atmosphere). In order to avoid sinking deeper into Neptune’s atmosphere, you would also require some sort of flotation system. To perish here would require less than a second. Neptune has numerous ways of killing you: gravity, radiation, an atmosphere devoid of oxygen, atmospheric pressure, and cold. It truly is a serial killer! Well, that’s basically all I had to say. So, why don’t you just chill out and appreciate what we have on Earth? Earth appears to be an ideal place to live. We have a pleasant environment, which allows us to breathe easily, and the sun, which gives us energy and tans us in the summer. Additionally, it is the only planet with coke. We will hopefully not destroy our planet. And even if we did, we would not have many opportunities to find another location in the near future. Of course, scientists are working on this, but even if we discovered an extrasolar planet that appeared suitable for supporting life, the issue would be how to get there in a reasonable amount of time. Possibly, it’s all a matter of technology, and all we can do is wait for someone to come up with a clever solution. Until then, all we can do is take care of our planet.
