Prometheus 2006

Prometheus 2006
Year	2005-06
Mission Destination	Titan
Mission Dates	28-02-2006 to 4-03-2006
Habitat Commander	Stephen Smith
Mission Control Commander	N/A
Simulator Commander	N/A

Mission Purpose

The primary purpose of this mission was to test if life exists, could exist, or has existed on Titan. This was carried out by first testing for the presence of various organic compounds needed for life, and/or exclusively produced as a byproduct of life (see "proposed experiments"), and ultimately testing for signs of life on Titan.

Proposed Experiments

Main article: Mission Prometheus Experiments

Another experiment that was proposed (although the astronauts planned to bypass it with a granola bar cartel) was to have the astronauts become self-sufficient by growing their own duck weed from their grey water, and live off that for the last half of the mission.

Data on Titan

Main article: Titan

Titan is one of the moons orbiting Saturn. It is fairly large for a moon, and is comparable in size to some of the inner terrestrial planets. it's atmosphere is composed mostly of N2 gas. What really interested the scientists, and our astronauts is Titan's mantle. It is widely accepted that Titan has a mantle not of molten rock, but of liquid water - one of the most vital elements needed for life.

Mission Results

We have life!

The experiments for the mission have been concluded, and alhough a formal report is still being generated, the Payload Specialist has been able to draw many conclusions about the prospects of life on Titan. We have been able to confirm the presence of nitrates, ammoniates, carbohydrates (sugars) and lipids (fats) on the surface of Titan. The presence of these complex organic molecules points towards the existance of life. Further evidence was obtained when sealed samples of liquid from Titan fermented and produced copious ammounts of alcohol. This behavior was observed in several samples, and rules out any possibility of this being an isolated case of contamination.