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 Congratulations. You found Jupiter. With its famous red
spot, Jupiter is the most massive planet in the solar
system. (It is more than 300 times more massive than the
Earth.) Jupiter is a gas planet, which means it has no
surface to walk on. Jupiter's outer layers consist mostly of
hydrogen and helium. The planet has been visited by six
spacecraft, the first one being Pioneer 10 in 1973.
OK, now that you've found and photographed Jupiter, it's
time to look at the other four planets nearby and see if any
of them can support human life. The planet you're looking
for needs to have moderate temperatures and liquid water.
Your instruments are showing you the readings below. Which
one might be habitable?
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Planet E
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Planet F
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Planet G
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Planet H
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Mass (kg)
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4.87 x 1024
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6.42 x 1023
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5.98 x 1024
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3.3 x 1023
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Mean surface temperature (K)
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726
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310
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281
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452
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Atmosphere
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96.5% carbon dioxide
3.5% nitrogen
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95.3% carbon dioxide
2.7% nitrogen
1.6%
argon
0.15% oxygen
trace amouts of water
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78% nitrogen
21% oxygen
1% argon
trace
amount of carbon dioxide and water
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no atmosphere
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Satellites
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0
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2
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1
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0
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Back to Readings
Photo courtesy NASA
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