Jupiter

The largest planet in the Solar System presents a view of turbulence far beyond any earthly equivalent. The planet's surface is covered by rapidly moving bands of "cloud" which interact in tidal eddies to produce the familiar lines and "swirls" seen from space. The largest surface feature is known as the "Great Red Spot" and is a long-lived storm over 40,000km across which is estimated to have been occurring for over 300 years.

The most important feature of Jupiter for the current generation of spacers is its magnetic field, which is more than 1,200 times larger than Earth's and 19,000 times stronger. This magnetic field causes multiple bands of radiation, beginning above the upper layers of the atmosphere and extending over 3 million kilometres into space. For much of this area, the radiation is hundreds of times higher than the dose required to kill an unprotected human. Several of its moons (all of the larger ones), including Callisto and 10, reside well within this magnetic field and lethal radiation band.

Jupiter has sixteen known moons, all of which remained locked in a fixed "tidal" orbit due to the planet's strong gravitation, a well-defined "ring", and a halo of electrically charged particles orbiting just outside the ring itself. The intense radiation and magnetic levels surrounding Jupiter make its moon system unsuitable for colonization and restrict mining operations because of the damage caused to even well-shielded equipment. The outer moons are generally too small to provide even mining potential.

Nonetheless, NASA has sent a major manned expedition to survey the Jovian system and to drop probes into the upper levels of Jupiter's atmosphere. The DSS Pathfinder and its crew of eight will reach the gas giant this year (2025) and the scientific community anxiously awaits the first transmissions.