Umbriel

The 1800s

This week in 1851, William LaSalle discovers the moons Umbriel and Ariel orbiting Uranus.

I'm not saying Uranus is big enough to have its own moons, but clearly the universe thinks so.

The 1900s

Non c'è superficie solida, fa un freddo cane e c'è così tanto ghiaccio con cui fare i conti che affetta una nave spaziale come i puri giganti gassosi non riescono a fare.

Ma quelle lune, come Umbriel e Tritone, sono piene d'acqua, CO2 congelata e azoto.

L'anidride carbonica e l'azoto sono parecchio interessanti perché sono fantastici per far crescere piante e persone.

Quindi allestireste una piccola operazione per raccogliere carburante per eventuali esploratori concentrati a lasciare il sistema stellare e vi stabilireste attorno a Nettuno per fare del lavoro speculativo di ricerca mineraria profonda che potrebbe portare alla vincita suprema.

They're brutally cold, and there's so much ice to deal with, which shreds a spaceship in a way pure gas giants can't.

Uh, but those moons, like Umbriel and Triton, hmm- Full of water, frozen carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.

Now, carbon dioxide and nitrogen are pretty interesting because they're great for growing plants and people.

So you'd set up a small operation to harvest fuel for any explorers focused on leaving the star system, and you'd set up around Neptune to do some speculative deep-diving work that could result in the ultimate payoff.

Romantically, they are named after characters from English literature.

The major moons, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon, feature diverse compositions dominated by water ice and rocky material.

Studies published in 2025, it was a very busy year for Uranus scientists, hint at possible differentiated interiors, with liquid oceans sandwiched between rocky cores and icy mantles, which of course raises the tantalizing question of whether they are habitable for life.

But again, only an actual visit could tell us that.

There's no solid surface, they're brutally cold, and there's so much ice to deal with, which shreds a spaceship in a way pure gas giants can't.

But those moons, like Umbriel and Triton, are full of water, frozen carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.

Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are pretty interesting because they're great for growing plants and people.

So you'd set up a small operation to harvest fuel for any explorers focused on leaving the star system.

Like when we look at Saturn, we are looking at moons like Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, and Rhea.

And at Uranus the targets are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon.

And at Neptune, the massive retrograde moon Triton.

Sending a probe to the outer solar system is one of the most expensive and time-consuming endeavors humanity undertakes.