In 2017, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft sent back the closest images of Saturn as it plunged into the planet’s stormy atmosphere, revealing some amazing information. So what would happen if humans explored Saturn?
Saturn is 1.2 billion kilometers away from Earth, and with today’s spacecraft technology, you would need about 8 years to make the journey. Finally, you arrive and see Saturn up close; it is a colossal planet, the second largest in the solar system, and is 760 times larger than Earth.
Saturn is 1.2 billion kilometers from Earth.
The Rings of Saturn
Having made the journey, it would be a mistake to overlook Saturn’s rings. This ring system is as wide as the distance between Earth and the Moon, appearing like a massive solid disc. However, up close, these rings are composed of millions of ice chunks, some as small as dust particles, while others are as large as buses. To traverse the entire ring system, one would need to travel 12 million kilometers, approximately 15 times the distance from Earth to the Moon. Along the way, you will encounter small moons.
The rings of Saturn are as wide as the distance between Earth and the Moon.
Materials here are gradually detaching from the rings and heading towards Saturn, creating meteor showers. It turns out that Saturn’s magnetic field is pulling materials from the rings towards the planet, so it is fortunate that we are visiting Saturn now, as this ring system will disappear in about 300 million years.
Entering the Planet
We will enter Saturn and land at the North Pole, but wait, there is no solid ground underneath for landing. Saturn is almost entirely composed of hydrogen and helium gas, which is why it is called a gas giant. We reach Saturn’s atmosphere from a distance of 4,000 kilometers above the surface. As we pass over the North Pole, we will witness a breathtaking aurora. Saturn’s magnetic field generates a strong electric current, heating the atmosphere at the poles, which could disrupt navigation systems and electronic equipment on board.
Next, we will enter the troposphere at an altitude of 250 km. Be careful, strong winds can hit us at nearly 400 m/s, three times faster than the strongest storms on Earth. Surrounding us are dense yellow clouds, which are the predominant color of this planet. They are filled with ammonia. It is best to keep the doors tightly sealed, as ammonia is unpleasant and can damage your respiratory system. Furthermore, the temperature here is -250 degrees Celsius, much colder than the East Antarctic Plateau (-100 degrees Celsius), the coldest place on Earth. Now, let’s descend to a somewhat warmer location.
At this point, we have reached the planet’s surface, which is covered by a mixture of water vapor and ammonia gas, with a temperature of 0 degrees Celsius. As we go deeper, the pressure increases, causing water molecules to freeze and resulting in intense hailstorms. Hopefully, these do not tear our ship apart; if we survive, we will reach the next layer.
After penetrating 1,000 km into the interior. Here, the pressure is so high that it forces hydrogen molecules to compress into a liquid form, which is not good at all, as even the toughest submarines would be crushed under these conditions.
Beneath the liquid hydrogen layer lies the metallic hydrogen layer at a depth of 30,000 km into the interior. The issue here is that metals can conduct electricity, so even if our navigation and electronic equipment escape the auroras above, they will certainly not remain intact at this layer.
However, if we can survive, our final destination may very well be the core of Saturn. Scientists suspect that Saturn has a core made of iron and nickel, but they are unsure if it is in a liquid or solid form like Earth’s core. Therefore, we would be the lucky ones to discover this once and for all.
However, the temperature here is over 83,000 degrees Celsius, hotter than the surface of the Sun, easily vaporizing both the spacecraft and the crew. It seems we should turn back while we still can!
