Europa Drill by geirla

Bryce • Science Fiction • posted on Feb 19, 2011

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Description

I've gone back to no stars in this sky for this image. A bright surface on Europa and a giant Jupiter, over twenty-four times the apparent diameter of the full moon from Earth -- nearly six hundred times the sky dome area --well, that should drown out even the brightest star. I've also tweaked the lander craft and the astronaut suits from the previous image, Ganymede North. This image is just Bryce, with no post but the signature. Thanks for all your views, comments and favorites! --- The plan to get a probe down to Europa's ocean was simple, really. The probe was just a science package attached to a nuclear reactor. The reactor produced heat, melted the ice, and the probe descended. A thick cable with a metallic sheath followed behind, keeping open a thin column of water so that data and instructions could flow up and down the deep shaft. In practice, it was a little more complicated. The scientific instruments had to be protected from the heat and radiation and so did the data strands inside the cable. And when it reached the ocean, the probe had to plug enough of the ice for the liquid not to roar up the shaft like a geyser. It wasn't like the crew could stay around and monitor progress, either. Though the drill went down at the thinnest point in the ice-covered crust -- a rare crater within a crater on that near crater-less moon -- it still took twelve days of drilling to reach the ocean. That was too long to bake in the radiation thrown out by Jupiter's magnetic fields. The landing crew had just enough time to unload the cargo lander, set up the comm station and the drill assembly, and then they retreated back to orbit and the radiation shelter aboard the Archimedes before the reactor added more radioactivity to an already dangerous environment. It proved worth the effort, though. In the deep sunless ocean, microbes and slimes eked out an alien existence. Europa joined Mars and Titan as other places in the Solar System known to have life. With analysis pointing towards a common origin at or maybe prior to the birth of the solar system, it was a boost to proponents of panspermia. Footprints and Scrapings: The Race Across the Solar System, 2029-2048 Dorado Press, 2099

Comments (16)

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Radar_rad-dude

7:37PM | Sat, 19 February 2011

A most excellent and superb scifi scene! Great job!

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NefariousDrO

7:38PM | Sat, 19 February 2011

Too cool! Your signature realism, superb designs for the landers and the equipment, you're an amazing artist, and this is a real inspiration. I particularly like having Io hanging there between the viewer and Jupiter. You're right that the bright terrain of Europa and Jupiter's light would certainly drown out the stars (I would have suggested looking at any of the Moon-Landing shots, but knowing you I'm sure you already have!) so I can certainly understand leaving them out. I love doing the stars and nebulae in the background, but it's definitely not for everyone, and alot depends upon your intended goal. I really like the models for the landers, very realistic designs with wonderful details (the maneuvering thrusters are magnificent, I should add) and I love the terrain you've got here. Fantastic work in all regards!

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beelzebulb

7:49PM | Sat, 19 February 2011

Definitely cool picture:)

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peedy

12:41AM | Sun, 20 February 2011

Fantastic image! Corrie

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VEDES

3:21AM | Sun, 20 February 2011

SUPERB CREATION!!!BRAVO!!!!

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Imaginatos

8:36AM | Sun, 20 February 2011

NICE work ! :)

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grafikeer

10:06AM | Sun, 20 February 2011

Great lighting,surface mats and models...the terrain work is very well done,and the overall composition leads the eye throughout...nicely done all around my friend!

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