Aster › Space program › Tethys
Tethys
Position on the route: 43/130 · level needed 120 · journey (Mk0 engine) 24.6 h
By the numbers
| Diameter | 1,062 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 1.89 days |
| Distance | 294,670 km |
| Density | 0.98 g/cm³ |
The story
Tethys is almost pure water ice, with a density of 0.98 g/cm³: it would float. Cassini found it in 1684, and the later Cassini spacecraft took its name. The Odysseus impact basin is 400 km across; Ithaca Chasma is a 2,000-km canyon that wraps about three-quarters of the way round the moon.
Its bright ice surface is being repainted with fresh ice from Enceladus’s plumes. In the game, Saturn’s cleanest ice source.
Missions
- Voyager 1 and 2
- Cassini (2004–2017)
Colony note
Pure ice: ideal for a water station. A lap of Saturn takes only 1.9 days and the planet hangs in the sky.
What probes bring back
- Density 0.98 g/cm³: it would float on water; almost pure water ice.
- Ithaca Chasma is a 2,000-km canyon; the Odysseus impact basin is 400 km across.