Planet Saturn and Life Support - Essay Example

The atmosphere is also important, and the stripped-away gaseous outer layer would need to be replaced with an oxygen-rich atmosphere to be capable of supporting life. The atmosphere is not only for breathing, however. It also serves as a protective shield from dangerous energy, and thusly the new atmosphere of Saturn would have to have the same property. Saturn currently has no water, and could not sustain liquid water due to its extremely hot core and the resulting surface temperature of, which would have to be lowered for life to survive in the first place.

This planet is too far away to be in the “habitable zone” where the sun could support life (Jones, Sleep, & Underwood, 2006). A reduced orbit would accompany a shortened distance from the sun and would match well with the plane of the Earth (producing similar seasons). The density of Saturn’s core would somehow need to be lessened so that life would not be crushed by its gravity. This gravity would also interfere with other planets if Saturn were closer to the sun, leading to a whole new array of problems regarding ideal location.

Additionally, the magnetic field of Saturn (slightly weaker than Earth’s) would not be strong enough to produce a magnetosphere capable of protecting the planet’s life. These are only a few examples of the changes that would need to occur for Saturn to be habitable, but they clearly demonstrate some main barriers to the survival of life on this planet.