Aster › Space program › Dione
Dione
Position on the route: 44/130 · level needed 122 · journey (Mk0 engine) 24.6 h
By the numbers
| Diameter | 1,123 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 2.74 days |
| Distance | 377,400 km |
| Ocean | ≈ 100 km deep, possible |
The story
Dione is Saturn’s fourth-largest moon, a world of dense ice rock. The ‘wispy streaks’ Cassini imaged are in fact ice cliffs several kilometres high. Gravity data suggest a global ocean about 100 km down; it also has a very thin oxygen exosphere and two ‘Trojan’ moons, Helene and Polydeuces.
A subsurface ocean makes it a new candidate in the search for life beside Enceladus and Europa. In the game, a stop rich in ice, ammonia and research value.
Missions
- Voyager 1 and 2
- Cassini (2004–2017): several close flybys
Colony note
A thick ice crust; a base for drilling to the ocean below.
What probes bring back
- The ‘wispy streaks’ across it are really ice cliffs (Cassini).
- Gravity data suggest a global ocean about 100 km down; it also has a very thin oxygen exosphere.