Exploratour - Life in the Solar System
The environment of the moons, with the exception of Io, and Titan, is one of little or no atmosphere, which means there is little or no greenhouse effect to moderate the warming of the surface by the sun and little or no surface pressure, which most terrestrial life forms require to hold their bodies intact (recall the movie Total Recall). The lunar surfaces are almost directly exposed to space. Without a greenhouse effect, the lunar surfaces are exposed to extreme swings in temperature (-279 degrees F to +260 degrees; F or 100 K to 400 K). Without an atmosphere, the lunar surfaces are also exposed to and energy ultraviolet light and energetic charged particles. These materials have a tendency to break down biological cells in life as we know it.
This is page 13 of 20
This is page 13 of 20