Titan's Resources and their Utilization

Abstract

Saturn's moon Titan is a unique environment in the solar system. It is the only moon with an atmosphere, composed primarily of the gases N2 and CH4. It is also the only world to have abundant surface hydrocarbons CxHy, which are found as both liquids (seas, lakes) and solids (dunes). Meanwhile, oxygen is also readily accessible in the form of crustal water. This combination of abundant reduced carbon, along with available nitrogen and oxygen makes Titan an enticing world rich in resources that can be readily used to make food, fuel, building materials and more - potentially mission-enabling for long-duration voyages or habitats in the outer solar system. At the same time Titan, as an icy moon, is likely to be depleted at the surface in heavier elements including metals, which must therefore be found and brought from elsewhere. In this article we describe both the available resources on Titan, and also their potential uses. We compare and contrast the resource availability and potential in-situ utilization (ISRU) with other destinations suggested for human habitation such as the Moon and Mars. We conclude by discussing what future work will be important to further characterize Titan's resources, and to develop technologies for their utilization.