Saturn's moon · Lakes of Kraken
Titan
Orange skies, methane seas, and the best gliding in the system.
Saturn's largest moon has a thick atmosphere and lakes and seas of liquid methane. In 3455, domed settlements line the shores of Kraken Mare, glowing like lanterns in the orange haze.
Low gravity and thick air make flying almost too easy. Locals strap on wings and glide everywhere, and visitors who try it once never want to walk again.
Titan is cold enough to freeze air, but its thick atmosphere makes it surprisingly gentle to live on. With a heated suit and a pair of wings, you can go almost anywhere.
The settlements of Kraken Shore are built around chemistry plants that turn Titan's rich atmosphere into fuels and plastics for the whole Solar System.
Atmosphere
Thick, orange, hazy and freezing. Heated suits outside, always.
Local quirk
Children learn to fly before they learn to ride a bike.
Regions · proposed names, not locked canon
Kraken Shore
A string of domed towns along the biggest methane sea.
The Glide Cliffs
Launch ledges where everyone from grandparents to toddlers jumps off with wings.
Dune Fields
Long dunes of dark grains at the equator, perfect for sledging.
Ligeia Bay
A quieter sea to the north, with fishing-style sample boats and a famous lighthouse.
Hazards
- ▲Extreme coldAround minus 180 degrees. Heated suits are not optional.
- ▲Methane stormsRare, but they bring heavy rain and flash floods.
- ▲Overconfident glidersEveryone thinks they're a champion on their first day.
Visitor tips
- ✦Check your suit heater twice.
- ✦Start on the small cliffs.
- ✦Don't race Rina Aldo.
Local life
- ●Titanian settlers
- ●Dome-grown orchards
A day on Titan
A Titan day lasts sixteen Earth days, and sunlight is a dim orange glow through the haze. Townsfolk live by the clock and ignore the sky.
Every afternoon the Glide Cliffs fill with flyers, swooping over the methane sea like seabirds.
Locals & customs
Champion Rina Aldo
Five-time Titan Glide Champion. Fearless, funny and totally unimpressed by Zamfyr.
Dome-Warden Pol
Keeps the domes heated and sealed. Has a heated suit with fourteen pockets.
- ◆Everyone learns to glide before they turn six.
- ◆The Titan Glide Race is held every year and lasts three days.
- ◆Never bring a lit flame outside. The air disagrees.
Legends & history
The Kraken of Kraken Mare
Titanians say a giant creature lives in the deepest part of the sea, though every scan says it's empty.
Gliders who fly low over the water at night swear they've seen something big move under the surface.
Crew log
“I came second in the glide race. Out of two. The other one was a child.”
“Easy flying. Thick air. I'd come back.”
Story seed · in development
Wing It
A gliding race on Titan goes wrong when someone swaps the winner's trophy for a stolen engine part. Zamfyr enters the race. He has never glided before.
The stolen engine part belongs to the Wobblenaut. Without it, they're staying on Titan for good, so Zamfyr has to win.
Earthward stakes
Titan's chemistry plants supply fuel and materials to Earth's shipyards.
Onobo packs
Science inspiration
Titan really has a thick atmosphere and methane lakes and seas, including Kraken Mare. The settlements are fiction.
NASA: Titan