Aster › Space program › Puck
Puck
Position on the route: 64/130 · level needed 183 · journey (Mk0 engine) 38.1 h
By the numbers
| Diameter | ≈ 162 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 18.3 hours |
| Distance | 86,000 km |
| Found | 1985, Voyager 2 |
The story
Puck is Uranus’s largest inner moon; Voyager 2 found it in 1985, among the first new moons it recorded on its approach. About 162 km, dark and cratered; it bears the name of the nimble sprite in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The orbits of Uranus’s small inner moons are chaotic and their interactions with neighbours are still not fully understood; Hubble has tracked them for years. Puck circles in such a region close to the rings.
Missions
- Voyager 2 (1986): discovery and imaging
- Hubble: orbit tracking
Colony note
Small, dark and cold; an observation outpost near the rings.
What probes bring back
- Uranus’s largest inner moon (≈162 km), found by Voyager 2 in 1985; Hubble tracked its orbit for years.
- Dark and cratered; a mix of ice and carbon.