Why can’t astronauts land on Saturn?

At a time when interplanetary travel is on the agenda of many countries (three missions to Mars were sent in 2021 alone), a recurring question is: Why aren’t larger and more fascinating planets like Saturn the target of space travel?

When searching social networks, Several conspiracy theories about trips to Saturn pop up right awayHe stated that NASA has never sent a real spacecraft to the planet, as this would hide the existence of life or even an alien base there. According to these publications, all published images would have been made in the studio.

Delusions aside, there are real reasons why we don’t send humans to Saturn, and the first is definitely distance. As with last Sunday (27), the planet was about 1.2 billion kilometers away from us when it was closest to Earth. With current technology, the journey between the two planets will take about eight years..

You cannot go to these “planets” because the discovery was a lie.

Jesus is getting worse pic.twitter.com/csq8Ajqdib

— kingthrash S-CLASS player (@DoWhatYouDo6) 29 August 2023

What are the real reasons why astronauts don’t land on Saturn?

In addition to the potential risks and pressure on the crew, such as exposure to cosmic radiation and psychological isolation, There’s another reason not to land on Saturn: There’s nowhere to land. Like Jupiter, the planet is a “gas giant”, meaning that it has no solid surface as it is a celestial body composed primarily of hydrogen and helium.

If we dive into this scenario, which includes traces of water, ammonia, and methane, we find hydrogen in liquid form under pressure at the bottom, and helium at the bottom because it is heavier. same situation.

As you go deeper and under more pressure, the light gas turns into metallic hydrogen. And perhaps at the center of the planet is a rocky core, estimated to be ten times the mass of the Earth, filled with metals like iron and nickel inside. But even if we can access this theoretical core, it’s possible that it too is liquid.

Final challenges on Saturn: pressure and temperature

If you think the reasons for not landing on Saturn so far are insufficient, consider atmospheric pressure. While the weight of the atmosphere on the surface of the planet is 1 bar on Earth, this value is 1 million bars on Saturn. Well, If the astronauts had miraculously survived, they would have been crushed instantly.

To conclude the myth, there is the matter of temperature: Despite being far from the Sun, Saturn’s gravity pulled the initial constituent material toward the center of the planet, creating a pressure that produced temperatures of up to 15,000 degrees Celsius.

The final challenge of an unexpected expedition to Saturn will be to blow up a rocket because besides the lack of a launch point, the spacecraft will need to be more powerful due to the planet’s greater gravity.

Did you like the content? So keep up with more astronomical curiosities at TecMundo. And since getting to Saturn is an impossible mission, who knows how to visit a closer neighbor like the Red Planet? After all, NASA has already set the date for humanity’s arrival on Mars.