Jupiter's moons in fiction
Encyclopedia
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
's extensive system of natural satellites
Jupiter's natural satellites
Jupiter has 64 confirmed moons, giving it the largest retinue of moons with "reasonably secure" orbits of any planet in the Solar System. The most massive of them, the four Galilean moons, were discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei and were the first objects found to orbit a body that was neither...
– in particular the four large Galilean moons
Galilean moons
The Galilean moons are the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei in January 1610. They are the largest of the many moons of Jupiter and derive their names from the lovers of Zeus: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Ganymede, Europa and Io participate in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance...
(Io
Io (moon)
Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
, Europa
Europa (moon)
Europa Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. This surface is striated by cracks and...
, Ganymede
Ganymede (moon)
Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
and Callisto
Callisto (moon)
Callisto named after the Greek mythological figure of Callisto) is a moon of the planet Jupiter. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. It is the third-largest moon in the Solar System and the second largest in the Jovian system, after Ganymede. Callisto has about 99% the diameter of the...
) – has been a common science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
setting.
Satellite system
Some references in fiction focus on more than one moon, or do not refer to a specific moon.Literature
- Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's short story, "Jupiter FiveJupiter Five"Jupiter Five" is a science fiction short story by Arthur C. Clarke first published in the magazine If in 1953. It appeared again in Clarke's collection of short stories Reach for Tomorrow, in 1956, and deals with the detection and exploration of an old spaceship from outside the Solar System.-Plot...
" (1953), has most of the action in the Jupiter system. Clarke also concentrates heavily on the system in his Space Odyssey series. - In Seetee ShipSeetee ShipSeetee Ship is the second of two science fiction novels by Jack Williamson, writing under the pseudonym Will Stewart. It is a fix-up adapting two stories previously published in Astounding Science Fiction magazine, "Minus Sign" and "Opposites—React!" .Seetee Ship was released in 1951...
(1949) and Seetee Shock (1950) by Jack WilliamsonJack WilliamsonJohn Stewart Williamson , who wrote as Jack Williamson was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction" following the death in 1988 of Robert A...
, the Jovian moons are colonised by the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, which transfers its government there after the United States builds a nuclear base on the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, which enables the Americans to dominate the whole of Earth. The Jovian Soviet is one of the main powers contending for control of the mineral wealth of the Asteroid BeltAsteroid beltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
. - The novels of Kim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
, including The Memory of WhitenessThe Memory of WhitenessThe Memory of Whiteness is a science fiction novel written by Kim Stanley Robinson and published in 1985. It shares with the Mars trilogy a focus on human colonization of the solar system and depicts a grand tour that travels from the outer planets inward toward the Sun, visiting many human...
(1985), Green MarsMars trilogyThe Mars trilogy is a series of award-winning science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the intensely personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost two centuries...
(1993) and Blue MarsMars trilogyThe Mars trilogy is a series of award-winning science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the intensely personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost two centuries...
(1996) depict numerous ideas about the future colonization of Jupiter, although they focus more on the moons than on the planet itself. - The Ilium/Olympus novels of Dan SimmonsDan SimmonsDan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
depict numerous biomechanical organisms, called moravecs, that dwell on the Galilean moons and in the Asteroid BeltAsteroid beltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
. - The novel The Runaway Robot by Lester Del Rey.
- In LarklightLarklightLarklight is a children's novel by author Philip Reeve. Illustrated by David Wyatt, it is the first book in the Larklight Trilogy. The hardcover edition has alternate title lines Or the Revenge of the White Spiders! or to Saturn's Rings and Back!...
the moons of Jupiter have been colonised by the British empire and are the furthest outpost. Certain spores can have effects on their mind, though this is now only used for advertising. Millenia ago they warred with each other for control of other moons and used spores for this, until a spore produced by the King of Chumbley, but which blew back towards Chumbley, made them all peacful. Jupiter is inhabitated by sentinent storms, the largest of which, Old Thunderhead, was and is worshipped by some Jovians as a God.
Film and television
- In the anime Cowboy BebopCowboy Bebopis a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...
(1998), various episodes take place on Jupiter's moons. In "Mushroom Samba" the crew was on its way to EuropaEuropa (moon)Europa Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. This surface is striated by cracks and...
, but had to land on IoIo (moon)Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
. The two-part episode "Jupiter Jazz" takes place on CallistoCallisto (moon)Callisto named after the Greek mythological figure of Callisto) is a moon of the planet Jupiter. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. It is the third-largest moon in the Solar System and the second largest in the Jovian system, after Ganymede. Callisto has about 99% the diameter of the...
, and "Ganymede Elegy", obviously takes place on GanymedeGanymede (moon)Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
(There are also several reference to TitanTitan (moon)Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
throughout the series and in the movie, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door). - The motion picture 2010 involves Io and Europa.
- The Canadian science fiction TV series StarhunterStarhunterStarhunter is a Canadian science fiction television series that aired for two seasons. The series was produced in Canada by The Danforth Studios Ltd. in association with Alliance Atlantis with some photography in the United Kingdom. Grosvenor Park Productions UK Ltd...
often used the Jupiter system as the backdrop for the action, including a metropolis on Io called "Syn City," and a space station called "Clarke Station" (presumably a tip of the hat to Arthur C. Clarke.) Various other moons are mentioned, including a prison on Ganymede. - The British science fiction TV show Red Dwarf mentions the moons of Ganymede and Titan in the first two series. Coincidentally, the ship Red Dwarf is part of the Jupiter Mining Corporation.
Games
- In The Lost Episodes of Doom, an unofficial expansion pack for the game Doom, the three episodes take place on Io, Callisto, and Jupiter's Great Red Spot (which was actually a gateway to Hell).
- The futuristic racing computer game POD - Planet of DeathPlanet of DeathPOD - Planet of Death is a futuristic racing game for Windows released by Ubisoft in 1997. The game is set in the distant future on the planet Io. A mining accident unleashes a virus from within the planet on its inhabitants, causing widespread panic. After most of the population escapes the...
takes place on Io where after colonization for mining, a corrosive biosubstance known as Pod, emerges from under the ground devoring the moon, eventually tearing it apart.
Comics
- In Planet ComicsPlanet ComicsPlanet Comics was a science fiction comic book title produced by Fiction House and ran for 73 issues from January 1940 to Winter 1953. Like many of Fiction House's early comics titles, Planet Comics was a spinoff of a pulp magazine, in this case Planet Stories, which featured space operatic tales...
#29 a minor moon of Jupiter, Pan, is shown. A cult that gives sacrifices to a four-armed beast is shown, which the God Mars takes over the High Priestess of to try spreading war.
Io
Io (moon)
Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
is the closest of the Galilean satellites to Jupiter. It is almost the same size as Earth's Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. Because of its position, it is subject to constant tidal flexing
Tidal force
The tidal force is a secondary effect of the force of gravity and is responsible for the tides. It arises because the gravitational force per unit mass exerted on one body by a second body is not constant across its diameter, the side nearest to the second being more attracted by it than the side...
and heavy radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
from Jupiter's magnetic field. Since 1979, it has also been known for its abundant volcanism
Volcanism
Volcanism is the phenomenon connected with volcanoes and volcanic activity. It includes all phenomena resulting from and causing magma within the crust or mantle of a planet to rise through the crust and form volcanic rocks on the surface....
.
Literature
- The Mad MoonThe Mad MoonThe Mad Moon is a science fiction short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum that first appeared in the December 1935 issue of Astounding Stories. As was the case with his earlier stories "A Martian Odyssey" and "Parasite Planet", "The Mad Moon" showcases Weinbaum's talent for creating alien ecologies...
(1935), short story by Stanley G. WeinbaumStanley G. WeinbaumStanley Grauman Weinbaum was an American science fiction author. His career in science fiction was short but influential...
. Io is home to two native races, the moronic balloon-headed loonies and the ratlike slinkers. - Lucky Starr and the Moons of JupiterLucky Starr and the Moons of JupiterLucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter is the fifth novel in the Lucky Starr series, six juvenile science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov that originally appeared under the pseudonym Paul French. The novel was first published by Doubleday & Company in August 1957...
(1957), young adult novel by Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
. Climactic confrontation between Lucky and a Sirian spy on Io. - The Very Pulse of the MachineThe Very Pulse of the Machine"The Very Pulse of the Machine" is a science fiction short story published in 1998 by Michael Swanwick. It was the winner of the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Short Story. It was also nominated for the 1999 Locus award and Asimov's Reader Poll.-Plot summary:...
(1998), Hugo awardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
-winning short story by Michael SwanwickMichael SwanwickMichael Swanwick is an American science fiction author. Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he began publishing in the early 1980s.-Biography:...
. Features the volcanic, sulfurous landscape of Io, as well as the powerful electrical flux between Io and Jupiter. - IliumIlium (novel)Ilium is a science fiction novel by Dan Simmons, the first part of the Ilium/Olympos cycle, concerning the re-creation of the events in the Iliad on an alternate earth and Mars. These events are set in motion by beings who have taken on the roles of the Greek gods...
(2003), novel by Dan SimmonsDan SimmonsDan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
. Io's magnetic flux tubeFlux tubeA flux tube is a generally tube-like region of space containing a magnetic field, such that the field at the side surfaces is parallel to those surfaces...
is used to hyper-accelerate spacecraft throughout the solar system. It is also the home of a moravec named Orphu.
Art
- Back cover illustrations for Fantastic AdventuresFantastic AdventuresFantastic Adventures was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1953 by Ziff-Davis. It was initially edited by Ray Palmer, who was also the editor of Amazing Stories, Ziff-Davis's other science fiction title. The first nine issues were in bedsheet format, but in June 1940...
(May 1940) and Amazing StoriesAmazing StoriesAmazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
(July 1941) by Frank R. PaulFrank R. PaulFrank Rudolph Paul was an illustrator of US pulp magazines in the science fiction field. He was born in Vienna, Austria and died at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey....
. Io was inhabited by furry, black-and-white intelligent beings living in the city of Crystallis, built entirely of crystals.
Film and television
- Outland (1981), starring Sean ConnerySean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
. Set in a mining colony on Io. - 2010 (1984) - sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey (film)2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. The ship from 2001 (the Discovery) is in orbit around Io where a joint Soviet and U.S. mission revive the ship and solve the mystery of the Monolith. - V:The Series (1984–1985) NBC TV series. Io is destroyed (vaporized) by the most powerful single weapon possessed by the Visitors from Sirius, the Particle Beam Triax.
- Five Faces of Darkness, episode of The TransformersThe Transformers (TV series)The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...
television cartoon. Autobots; BlurrBlurrBlurr is the name given to five different fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He frequently appears as a blue Autobot who transforms into a swift car...
and WheelieWheelie (Transformers)Wheelie is the name of two different fictional characters in the Transformers series.-Generation 1:The first Wheelie is a young Autobot who turns into a car. He has a distinctive style of speech, in which he rhymes his sentences while speaking in a high pitched voice, making him sound like a child....
end up stranded on Io after a DecepticonDecepticonThe Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
attack. - Red DwarfRed DwarfRed Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
(1988–1999) television comedy. Character Arnold RimmerArnold RimmerArnold Judas Rimmer is a fictional character in the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, played by Chris Barrie. He is unpopular with his crew mates, and is often the target of insults or pranks...
was born and raised on Io. - ExosquadExosquadExosquad is an American animated television series created by Universal Cartoon Studios as a response to Japanese anime. The show is set in the beginning of the 22nd century and covers the interplanetary war between humanity and Neosapiens, a fictional race artificially created as workers/slaves...
(1993–1995), animated television series. Io is the ExofleetExofleetExofleet is the name for all battle spaceships in the sci-fi animated television series Exosquad, built by the humans of the Homeworlds also known as the Terran space navy...
's main base of operations after the NeosapienNeosapienThe Neosapiens , featured in the science fiction animated television series Exosquad, are a fictional race of genetically engineered sentient humanoids.-Background:...
conquest of the homeworlds and the scene of several critical battles in the Terran-Neosapien War in the show's second season. - Babylon 5Babylon 5Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
(1993–1999), television series. Io is home to an Earth AllianceEarth Alliance (Babylon 5)The Earth Alliance is the name of a fictional alliance of the nations of Earth and off-world colonies in the television series Babylon 5. The transition of Earth government from a democratic, elected government to an authoritarian, militaristic one and back to a democracy again is a major theme of...
colony, second in size only to the colony on MarsMarsMars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. The Sol system's jumpgate is stationed in orbit around IoIo (moon)Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
along with an Orion-Class Starbase serving as a transfer station for all spacecraft entering or leaving the system. There is also a research colony on GanymedeGanymede (moon)Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
and a "ice mining operation" that is referred to as "a real cesspool of crime" on EuropaEuropa (moon)Europa Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. This surface is striated by cracks and...
. - Escape from JupiterEscape from JupiterEscape from Jupiter is an Australian children's science fiction drama which aired from 10 April 1994 to 3 July 1994. Concerning a small group of children on Jupiter's moon Io, the series ran for 13 episodes....
(1994), Australian ABC television series. Colonists in a mining colony on Io must evacuate to the orbiting space station KL5 when the moon's core destabilises. - Space Odyssey: Voyage To The PlanetsSpace Odyssey: Voyage To The PlanetsSpace Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets is a mockumentary about a manned voyage through the solar system. Space Odyssey premiered in 2004 and was made by the BBC...
(2005), BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
docudrama about a hypothetical manned mission to various points of the Solar SystemSolar SystemThe Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
. An astronaut lands on Io to collect samples of its rocks. Due to radiation risks and the astronaut becoming exhausted, the EVAExtra-vehicular activityExtra-vehicular activity is work done by an astronaut away from the Earth, and outside of a spacecraft. The term most commonly applies to an EVA made outside a craft orbiting Earth , but also applies to an EVA made on the surface of the Moon...
on Io is aborted early and the samples are abandoned. - Heroic AgeHeroic Age (anime)is a science fiction anime directed by Toshimasa Suzuki. It is produced by XEBEC and airs on Japanese television networks. The series first aired on April 1, 2007 and ended on September 30, 2007, with 26 episodes....
(2007), anime. JupiterJupiterJupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
is destroyed when a high-powered energy gun is used to knock Io out of orbit. It plummets into the atmosphere and ignites it, and intervention by the Silver and Bronze fleets leads to a cataclysmic explosion.
Games
- Ultima IIUltima IIUltima II: The Revenge of the Enchantress, released on August 24, 1982 , is the second computer role-playing game in the Ultima series.It was also the only official Ultima game published by Sierra On-Line...
(1982) computer game. The player must travel through various worlds, including Io, to complete the game. - PipelinePipeline (game)Pipeline is a computer game for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron, originally published by Superior Software in 1989.-Storyline:The game is a fast four-way scrolling arcade adventure with a look similar to previous Superior hits Repton and Ravenskull, but with a higher frame rate...
(1989), Superior SoftwareSuperior SoftwareSuperior Software is a video game publisher. It was established in 1982 by Richard Hanson and John Dyson, two graduates of the University of Leeds, England...
computer game. Set on a sulfur mine on Io. - DescentDescent (video game)Descent is a 3D first-person shooter video game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Entertainment Corp. in 1995. The game features six degrees of freedom gameplay and garnered several expansion packs...
(1995), computer game. Level 11 is set in a sulfur mine on Io. - DisruptorDisruptor (video game)Disruptor is a video game for the PlayStation. It was the first game by developer Insomniac Games, who would later go on to create the popular Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank, and Resistance series.-Gameplay:...
(1996), game for SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. A level is set within "the sulphurine mines of Io". - Final DoomFinal DoomFinal Doom is a first-person shooter video game that uses the game engine, items and characters from Doom II. It consists of two 32-level megawads , The Plutonia Experiment by the Casali brothers, and TNT: Evilution by TeamTNT. Final Doom was released in 1996 and distributed as an official id...
(1996) computer (and SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
) game. The first set of levels, "Evilution", takes place on a research base on Io. - POD - Planet of DeathPlanet of DeathPOD - Planet of Death is a futuristic racing game for Windows released by Ubisoft in 1997. The game is set in the distant future on the planet Io. A mining accident unleashes a virus from within the planet on its inhabitants, causing widespread panic. After most of the population escapes the...
(1997) computer racing game. After colonization for mining, a corrosive biosubstance known as Pod emerges from the ground, devoring the moon, eventually tearing it apart. - ZeroZoneZeroZoneZeroZone is a graphical adventure game in which the player assumes the position of the main character Stan, who must unravel the truth about his father's death.- Plot :...
(1997), computer game. Io is one of the settings. - Battlezone I (1998), computer game. Some missions are set on the surface of Io and Europa. Ganymede is featured exclusively in the Red Odyssey expansion.
- HaloHalo (series)Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
(2001), XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
game. Early in the series' backstory, the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Colonial Advisors on IoIo (moon)Io ) is the innermost of the four Galilean moons of the planet Jupiter and, with a diameter of , the fourth-largest moon in the Solar System. It was named after the mythological character of Io, a priestess of Hera who became one of the lovers of Zeus....
came under attack by "Frieden" secessionist forces which eventually led to the "Interplanetary War". Later, in Halo 2, detector stations on Io pick up a space-time "whisper" that warns of Covenant vessels approaching Earth via slipspace.
Europa
Europa (moon)
Europa Slightly smaller than Earth's Moon, Europa is primarily made of silicate rock and probably has an iron core. It has a tenuous atmosphere composed primarily of oxygen. Its surface is composed of ice and is one of the smoothest in the Solar System. This surface is striated by cracks and...
is the smallest of the four Galilean satellites and the second closest to Jupiter. It is theorized to have an ocean of liquid water underneath its icy surface; the thickness of the ice is much debated. The probable presence of the water ocean has made it a favored location for modern fictional speculation about extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
in the Solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
.
Literature
- 2010: Odyssey Two2010: Odyssey Two2010: Odyssey Two is a 1982 best-selling science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It is the sequel to the 1968 novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, but continues the story of Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation with the same title and not Clarke's original novel. The book is a part of Clarke's...
(1982) and 2061: Odyssey Three2061: Odyssey Three2061: Odyssey Three is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke that was published in 1987. It is the third book in Clarke's Space Odyssey series...
(1988) by Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
. Aliens taking interest in the primitive life forms under Europa's ice transform Jupiter into a star to kick-start their evolution. Fifty years later, Europa has become a tropical ocean world from which humans are banned. - Redemption CairnRedemption CairnRedemption Cairn is a science fiction short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum that first appeared in the March 1936 issue of Astounding Stories...
(1936), short story by Stanley G. WeinbaumStanley G. WeinbaumStanley Grauman Weinbaum was an American science fiction author. His career in science fiction was short but influential...
. Europa has a small Earthlike area on its Jupiter-facing side. - SchismatrixSchismatrixSchismatrix is a science fiction novel by Bruce Sterling, originally published in 1985. The story was Sterling's only novel-length treatment of the Shaper/Mechanist universe. Five short stories preceded the novel...
(1985) by Bruce SterlingBruce SterlingMichael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
. Europa is inhabited by genetically re-engineered posthumans as a philosophical/political statement by Abelard Lindsay's Lifesider's clique. - The Forge of GodThe Forge of GodThe Forge of God is a 1987 science fiction novel by American writer Greg Bear. Earth faces destruction when an inscrutable and overwhelming alien form of life attacks....
(1987) by Greg BearGreg BearGregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
. Europa is destroyed by aliens who use chunks of its ice to terraformTerraformingTerraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
planets. - A Spy in Europa (1997), short story in the Revelation SpaceRevelation SpaceRevelation Space is a 2000 science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. It was the first novel set in the Revelation Space universe, although the then-unnamed universe had already been established by several published short stories....
series by Alastair ReynoldsAlastair ReynoldsAlastair Preston Reynolds is a British science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read physics and astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland...
. An advanced human society called the Demarchists live in colonies on Europa on the underside of the ice crust at the top of the subsurface ocean. In later novels they become one of three social groups that dominate interstellar colonizationInterstellar travelInterstellar space travel is manned or unmanned travel between stars. The concept of interstellar travel in starships is a staple of science fiction. Interstellar travel is much more difficult than interplanetary travel. Intergalactic travel, or travel between different galaxies, is even more...
. The race of genetically altered humans adapted to live in the subsurface ocean who feature in A Spy in Europa also appear later in Reynolds's 2006 short story Grafenwalder's Bestiary. - Ice Dragon's Song (1998), novella by Bud SparhawkBud SparhawkJohn C. "Bud" Sparhawk is an American science fiction author. He is best known for the strong scientific basis for his work, and also his humorous science fiction, in particular his Sam Boone series of short fiction.- Biography :...
. A 12 year old treks across the face of icy Europa. - Europa StrikeHeritage TrilogyHeritage Trilogy is a series of military science fiction books written by Ian Douglas that focus on the United States Marine Corps. It is followed by the Legacy Trilogy and the Inheritance Trilogy.-Background:...
(2000) by Ian DouglasWilliam H. Keith, Jr.William H. Keith is an American author. He served during the Vietnam War in the United States Navy as a hospital corpsman. He became a professional artist, working in the game industry with his brother Andrew, before becoming a full-time author...
. A massive ancient alien spacecraft lies in an ocean beneath the moon's surface, the discovery of which leads to a battle between Chinese forces and US Marines in 2067. - Outlaws of Europa (2002) by Michel Savage. Europa has been turned into a prison planet.
- IliumIlium (novel)Ilium is a science fiction novel by Dan Simmons, the first part of the Ilium/Olympos cycle, concerning the re-creation of the events in the Iliad on an alternate earth and Mars. These events are set in motion by beings who have taken on the roles of the Greek gods...
(2003) by Dan SimmonsDan SimmonsDan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
. Creatures from Europa feature prominently. - Riding the White Bull (2004), short story by Caitlín R. KiernanCaitlin R. KiernanCaitlín Rebekah Kiernan is the author of many science fiction and dark fantasy works, including seven novels, many comic books, more than one hundred published short stories, novellas, and vignettes, and numerous scientific papers.- Overview :Born in Dublin, Ireland, she moved to the United States...
. Probes discover an ecosystem in the sea beneath Europa's ice and subsequently infect Earth with a sentient Europan microbe. - OceanOcean (comics)Ocean is a 2004 six-issue comic book miniseries, written by Warren Ellis with pencils by Chris Sprouse and inks by Karl Story. It was published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint.- Plot :...
(2004), comic book by Warren Ellis. An ancient race of aliens is discovered in hibernation below the surface of Europa. At the climax the moon is destroyed by a horrific weapon. - The Quiet War (2008) by Paul J. McAuley. Europa's subsurface ocean is home to the only non-Terran (microbial) life in the solar system, although as a result of panspermia from a microbe-laden meteorite from an early solar system body's collision with Earth billions of years ago.
- Europa: book one of The Black Chronicles, by author J.A. Sanderlin was released in January 2010 through Tate PublishingTate Publishing & EnterprisesTate Publishing & Enterprises, LLC is a Christian publisher that prints books of all types. In general, it operates on the vanity press model in which most authors pay for the publication of their books...
. The story's main character resides on a mining colony and constructs an A.I.Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
submersible in order to explore the moon's subsurface ocean.
Art
- Back cover illustrations for Amazing StoriesAmazing StoriesAmazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
(September 1940, January 1942) by Frank R. PaulFrank R. PaulFrank Rudolph Paul was an illustrator of US pulp magazines in the science fiction field. He was born in Vienna, Austria and died at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey....
. Europa is inhabited by red, beetle-like intelligent beings who ride domesticated centipedes and live inside immense transparent plastic domes in a city called Oor.
Film and television
- The movie 2010 based on the similar book by Arthur C. Clark briefly depicts Europa.
- In the anime series GeneshaftGeneshaftis a Japanese science fiction anime television series set in space, produced by Bandai Visual in 2001, and directed by Kazuki Akane...
, Europa is not merely a moon, but a giant computer housing an AIAiAI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
called Oberus. Oberus uses Rings of its own creation to monitor the evolution of humanity and acts as a failsafe, should humanity threaten the natural order of the universe. In the final episode of the series, Oberus is forced to run its final program, attempting to use its rings to "crush" the sun. It is stopped from completing the process when the Shaft creates a Ring around Europa, terraforming the entire moon. - In the anime series Gundam Seed, George Glenn explores the moon and finds evidence of alien life forms.
- In the FuturamaFuturamaFuturama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
episode "Put Your Head on My Shoulder", Fry, Amy and Dr Zoidberg go on a picnic to Europa. - Voices of a Distant StarVoices of a Distant Staris a Japanese anime OVA by Makoto Shinkai. It chronicles a long-distance relationship between two close friends who communicate by sending emails via their mobile phones across interstellar space...
features Europa as a United Nations Naval Base, where it is visited by the Lysithea, a battleship that shares its name with another one of Jupiter's moonsLysithea (moon)Lysithea is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson in 1938 at Mount Wilson Observatory and is named after the mythological Lysithea, daughter of Oceanus and one of Zeus' lovers....
.
Games
- In the video game InfantryInfantry (computer game)Infantry Online is an isometric perspective multiplayer combat video game with sprite animation graphics, using complex soldier, ground vehicle and space-ship models on typically complex terrains...
, large cities lie underneath the ice sheets of Europa. - In the video game Battlezone, Europa is featured as a cold, ice covered world, where battles take place in cracks between the ice.
- The computer game Abyss: Incident at Europa involves an underwater base in Europa's ocean.
- The computer game DescentDescent (video game)Descent is a 3D first-person shooter video game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Entertainment Corp. in 1995. The game features six degrees of freedom gameplay and garnered several expansion packs...
has two levels set on Europa: level 13 (Europa Mining Colony) and level 14 (Europa CO2 Mine). Its second sequel, Descent 3 also has a level on Europa in which the player must destroy an energy refinery. The game depicts Europa as a snowy landscape. - In the role-playing game Transhuman SpaceTranshuman SpaceTranshuman Space is a role-playing game published by Steve Jackson Games as parts of the "Powered by GURPS" line. Set in the year 2100, humanity has begun to colonize the Solar System...
(2002), life is discovered around hydrothermal vents in the oceans of Europa. Subsequently, a war begins under the ice between those who seek to preserve the native microbial fauna and those who wish to adapt sapient life of Earthly origin to live near the vents. - In the video game StarLancerStarlancerStarlancer is a space-based science fiction flight simulator computer game, created by Erin Roberts, under the auspices of Digital Anvil.-Overview:It is the year 2160...
, the introductory cinematic depicts a surprise attack on Fort Kennedy located on Europa. - In the PS1 game Carnage HeartCarnage HeartCarnage Heart is a video game for the PlayStation, developed by Artdink. Its gameplay is a mecha-based, turn-based strategy game, where the player takes the role of a commander in a war fought by robots...
, Europa is one of three of Jupiter's moons on which you battle to defend the mining outposts from the Drakken Group, a huge conglomerate comprising a few hundred of the world's biggest corporations. - The PC action/ shooter Absolute ZeroAbsolute Zero (video game)Absolute Zero is a video game developed and published for MS-DOS and Macintosh by Domark.-Gameplay:Absolute Zero is a science-fiction flight sim first-person shooter, with action taking place over 30 missions in three different locations. In each mission the player controls one of seven...
depicted a battle between strange aliens that rose from the ice of Europa and the human colonists. - The AmigaAmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
game Uropa 2, is set on the surface, and in underground bases of Europa.
Music
- RosettaRosetta (band)Rosetta is an American post-metal band from Philadelphia incorporating elements of post-hardcore, shoegazing, drone, post-rock, avant-garde, and ambient, with influences as diverse as Neurosis and Isis, My Bloody Valentine, Frodus, and Stars of the Lid...
released The Galilean SatellitesThe Galilean Satellites-Personnel:* Michael Armine – sound manipulation, vocals* David Grossman – bass guitar* Bruce McMurtrie Jr. – drums* J. Matthew Weed – electric guitar, violin, mastering* Aaron Turner – artwork...
in 2005 with Translation Loss. The album revolves around an astronaut's voyage to Europa, in a quest for solitude, only to find himself longing for what he's left behind on Earth. - The song "The Tale of Europa" by The PhenomenautsPhenomenautsThe Phenomenauts are a San Francisco Bay Area band that combine elements of rock and roll, pop, punk, New Wave, Surf Rock and rockabilly along with a futuristic science fiction theme, dubbing their style "Rocket Roll"....
uses a conflict between humans and fictional Europan aliens to draw parallels to human wars on Earth.
Ganymede
Ganymede (moon)
Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
is the third of the Galilean moons from Jupiter. It is the largest moon in the Solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
, bigger than the planet Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
, almost 52% larger than the diameter
Diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
and with twice its mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
. It is 77% the diameter of Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. Ganymede's size made it a popular location for early science fiction authors looking for locations beyond Mars that might be inhabitable by humans. In reality, Ganymede is a cold, icy, cratered world with a vanishingly thin atmosphere.
Literature
- In the short story Tidal MoonTidal Moon"Tidal Moon" is a science fiction short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum and Helen Weinbaum that first appeared in the December 1938 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories and was reprinted in the collection Interplanetary Odysseys . Sam Moskowitz stated that Stanley G...
(1938) by Stanley G. WeinbaumStanley G. WeinbaumStanley Grauman Weinbaum was an American science fiction author. His career in science fiction was short but influential...
and Helen Weinbaum, most of Ganymede's surface is flooded every three months due to Jupiter's tides. - In the short story Christmas on GanymedeChristmas on Ganymede"Christmas on Ganymede" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was written in December 1940, first published in the January 1942 issue of Startling Stories, and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov and the anthology Christmas on Ganymede and Other Stories, edited by...
(1940) by Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
, native beings on Ganymede are introduced to the holiday. - In the short stories Not FinalNot FinalNot Final! is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, originally published in the October 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, and included in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov. Its sequel, "Victory Unintentional", is a robot story...
(1941) and Victory UnintentionalVictory UnintentionalVictory Unintentional is a humorous science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov, originally published in the August 1942 issue of Super Science Stories and included in the collections The Rest of the Robots and The Complete Robot...
(1942) by Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
, a conflict arises between humans living on Ganymede and the inhabitants of Jupiter. - In Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's work:- In Farmer in the SkyFarmer in the SkyFarmer In The Sky is a 1953 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about a teenaged boy who emigrates with his family to Jupiter's moon Ganymede, which is in the process of being terraformed. A condensed version of the novel was published in serial form in 1950 in Boys' Life magazine , under...
(1950), a young man, Bill Lerner, and his family move to Ganymede. The story describes the terraformingTerraformingTerraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
and colonizationSpace colonizationSpace colonization is the concept of permanent human habitation outside of Earth. Although hypothetical at the present time, there are many proposals and speculations about the first space colony...
of this satellite. The novel assumes that GanymedeGanymede (moon)Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
has a rocky surface under an ice layer. - In The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones (novel)The Rolling Stones is a 1952 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein....
(1952), Ganymede is mentioned in passing as a human colony. - In Double StarDouble StarDouble Star is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction and published in hardcover the same year...
(1956), Ganymede is represented by a political party. - In I Will Fear No EvilI Will Fear No EvilI Will Fear No Evil is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialised in Galaxy and published in hardcover in 1970...
(1970), the Lunar Commission proposes terraforming Ganymede. - In Space CadetSpace CadetSpace Cadet is a 1948 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about Matt Dodson, who joins the Space Patrol to help preserve peace in the Solar System. The story translates the standard military academy story into outer space: a boy from Iowa goes to officer school, sees action and adventure,...
(1948), a recruit is a third generation colonist from Ganymede, and a mission is sent there. - In Variable StarVariable StarVariable Star is a 2006 novel written by Spider Robinson based on the surviving seven pages of an eight-page 1955 novel outline by the late Robert A. Heinlein. The book is set in a divergent offshoot of Heinlein's Future History and contains many references to works by Heinlein and other authors...
(2006; written by Spider RobinsonSpider RobinsonSpider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author.- Biography :Born in the Bronx, New York City, Robinson attended Catholic high school, spending his junior year in a seminary, followed by two years in a Catholic college, and five years at the State...
from the notes of R.A. Heinlein), Ganymede is a birthplace of the novel's protagonist, Joel Johnston.
- In Farmer in the Sky
- Leigh BrackettLeigh BrackettLeigh Douglass Brackett was an American author, particularly of science fiction. She was also a screenwriter, known for her work on famous films such as The Big Sleep , Rio Bravo , The Long Goodbye and The Empire Strikes Back .-Life:Leigh Brackett was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California...
's short story The Dancing Girl of Ganymede (1950) is set on a volcanic, jungle-covered Ganymede. - In Poul AndersonPoul AndersonPoul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories...
's novella The Snows of Ganymede (1954), a party of terraformers visits a settlement on Ganymede called X which was established two centuries earlier by American religious fanatics. - In Lester del ReyLester del ReyLester del Rey was an American science fiction author and editor. Del Rey was the author of many of the Winston Science Fiction juvenile SF series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction branch of Ballantine Books, along with his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey.-Birth...
's novel Outpost of Jupiter (1963), a plague strikes the human settlement of Outpost on Ganymede. In another novel, Space Jockey, Ganymede is a former penal colony of Earth, now independent and distrustful of terrestrials. - In Poul Anderson's Three Worlds to Conquer (1964), human settlers on Ganymede, threatened by the power-mad captain of a space warship, make contact with a sympathetic culture on the Jovian surface—tribespeople menaced by invading cruel barbarians—and eventually manage to help each other overcome their respective enemies.
- Ganymede is referred to in virtually all of Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
's novels from the 50s and 60s, although it seldom receives more than a brief mention, with two exceptions. In Clans of the Alphane MoonClans of the Alphane MoonClans of the Alphane Moon is a 1964 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick. It is based on his 1954 short story Shell Game, first published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine.-Plot summary:...
(1964), we are introduced to Lord Running Clam, an intelligent slime mold from Ganymede. The Ganymede TakeoverThe Ganymede TakeoverThe Ganymede Takeover is a 1967 science fiction novel by Philip K. Dick and Ray Nelson. It is an alien invasion novel, and similar to Dick's earlier solo novel The Game-Players of Titan...
(1967) involves sentient wormlike gestalt aliens who have invaded Earth. - In the Lester del Rey novel The Runaway Robot (1965), the main character Paul and his robot live in a colony on Ganymede at the beginning of the story.
- The Goddess of Ganymede and Pursuit on Ganymede (1968). Sword and planetSword and planetSword and Planet is a subgenre of science fantasy that features rousing adventure stories set on other planets, and usually featuring Earthmen as protagonists. The name derives from the heroes of the genre engaging their adversaries in hand to hand combat primarily with simple melee weapons such as...
adventure by Mike ResnickMike ResnickMichael Diamond Resnick , better known by his published name Mike Resnick, is an American science fiction author. He was executive editor of Jim Baen's Universe.-Biography:...
. - James P. HoganJames P. Hogan (writer)James Patrick Hogan was a British science fiction author.-Biography:Hogan was born in London, England. He was raised in the Portobello Road area on the west side of London...
wrote a series that eventually spanned five books (Inherit the Stars (1977), The Gentle Giants of Ganymede (1978), Giants' Star (1981), Entoverse (1991) and Mission to Minerva (2005)) in which an alien race which inhabited a destroyed fifth planet between Mars and Jupiter is discovered in the hulk of an abandoned spacecraft discovered on Ganymede. - In the series of novels collectively called Bio of a Space TyrantBio of a Space TyrantBio of a Space Tyrant series is a six-book science-fiction series by Piers Anthony based within the solar system. The series revolves around the character Hope Hubris and his family, and charts Hope's ascent from poor Hispanic refugee to Tyrant of Jupiter, a single person heading the Executive,...
(1983–86) by Piers AnthonyPiers AnthonyPiers Anthony Dillingham Jacob is an English American writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is most famous for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth.Many of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best...
, the moon is analogous to 20th century CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and is the focus of a futuristic missile crisis. - In Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's novel 2061: Odyssey Three2061: Odyssey Three2061: Odyssey Three is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke that was published in 1987. It is the third book in Clarke's Space Odyssey series...
(1987), Ganymede is warmed by the new sun Lucifer and contains a large equatorial lake. It is the centre of human colonization of the Jovian system. - The 1991 science fiction novel Buddy Holly Is Alive and Well on Ganymede, by Bradley DentonBradley DentonBradley Clayton Denton is an American science fiction author. He has also written other types of fiction, such as the black comedy of his novel Blackburn, about a sympathetic serial killer....
(ISBN 0-688-10822-9 and ISBN 0-380-71876-6), begins when television sets throughout the world suddenly begin broadcasting a concert by an apparently living Buddy Holly, who says he is on Ganymede. - The majority of events in The Ganymede ClubThe Ganymede ClubThe Ganymede Club is a science fiction novel by Charles Sheffield, published in 1995. The story's mystery unravels in the same universe that Sheffield created for Cold as Ice, shortly after humanity begins colonisation of the solar system.-Setting:...
(1995), a science fiction mystery by Charles SheffieldCharles SheffieldCharles Sheffield , was an English-born mathematician, physicist and science fiction author. He had been a President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and of the American Astronautical Society....
, take place on Ganymede. - Yo visite Ganímedes (I visited Ganymede, 1970) by PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian writer Yosip Ibrahim relates in first person the story of a friend Pepe that keeps contacts with a civilisation in Ganymede. In this perfect civilisation, whose inhabitants communicate via telepathy, there are no wars or illnesses. The book follows the UFO religionUFO religionUFO religion is an informal term used to describe a religion that equates UFO occupants with gods or other semi-divine beings. Typically, the UFO occupants are held to be extraterrestials and that humanity either currently is, or eventually will become, part of a preexisting extraterrestrial...
line and plays with the story being actually true. - In the 1998 science fiction novel BloomBloom (novel)Bloom, written in 1998, is the fifth science fiction novel written by Wil McCarthy. It was first released as a hardcover in September 1998...
by Wil McCarthy, EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
’s ecosystemEcosystemAn ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
is destroyed by a grey gooGrey gooGrey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario known as ecophagy .Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally...
, annihilating all biological lifeLifeLife is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
. The grey goo then develops its own unique “ecosystem”. The only humanHumanHumans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
survivors are colonists on Jupiter's moons and in the asteroid belt. - In the novel Orphanage (2004) by Robert BuettnerRobert BuettnerRobert Buettner is an American author of military science fiction novels. He is a former Military Intelligence Officer, National Science Foundation Fellow in Paleontology and has been published in the field of Natural Resources Law. He has written five volumes of the Jason Wander series and two...
, an alien race uses Ganymede as a staging area for a war against Earth. - In Paul J. McAuley's The Quiet War (2008), Ganymede is one of the earliest sites for human colonisation in the outer solar system. Due to its proximity to Jupiter, its inhabitants live several kilometers beneath its ice cover. It is one of the dominant forces in "Outer" system politics due to its early settlement.
- In the short story "Marooned" by John W. Campbell, Jr, the advanced base camp of the Corliss Jovian exploration mission is set on the frozen surface of Ganymede.
Art
- In Frank R. PaulFrank R. PaulFrank Rudolph Paul was an illustrator of US pulp magazines in the science fiction field. He was born in Vienna, Austria and died at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey....
's series of back cover illustrations for Amazing StoriesAmazing StoriesAmazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
(October 1940, February 1942), Ganymede was inhabited by ferocious tiger-women who ride Dinosaurs. They live in the crater city of Gatos, which derives its power from the moon's magnetic field.
Film and television
- The made-for-TV German movie "Operation Ganymed" (1977) tells the story of five astronauts returning from an expedition to Ganymede. They find a seemingly desolate Earth and are trying to find out what happened while they were in space.
- In the Power RangersPower RangersPower Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
TV series (1993-), Ganymede is the hiding place chosen by ZordonZordonZordon is a powerful wizard and mentor to the Power Rangers franchise, appearing in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television series and many of its subsequent incarnations....
as the hiding space for a fleet of Zords known as the Mega Vehicles, which combine to form the Mega Voyager. The Space RangersPower Rangers in SpacePower Rangers in Space is a television show that aired in 1998 as the sixth season and fourth installment of the Power Rangers franchise...
locate these Zords after winning Key Cards from Darkonda in a card game. ("Flashes of Darkonda", "The Rangers' Mega Voyage"). - In the science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
TV series Babylon 5Babylon 5Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
(1993–1999), the ShadowsShadow (Babylon 5)The Shadows are a fictional alien species in the science fiction television series Babylon 5. Their homeworld is Z'ha'dum. In contrast to the Vorlons, whose philosophy is represented by the question "Who are you?", that of the Shadows is represented by the question "What do you want?", centering...
bury a ship under the surface of Ganymede, which is dug up during the third season episode Messages From EarthMessages from Earth"Messages from Earth" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:Marcus Cole escorts Dr. Mary Kirkish, a former member of Interplanetary Expeditions, to meet with the Babylon 5 War Council about something that is so secretive that Marcus had to...
(1996). - In Space Battleship YamatoSpace Battleship Yamatois a Japanese science fiction anime series featuring an eponymous spacecraft. It is also known to English-speaking audiences as Space Cruiser Yamato; an English-dubbed and heavily edited version of the series was broadcast on North American and Australian television as Star Blazers...
also called Star BlazersStar BlazersStar Blazers is an American animated television series adaptation of the Japanese anime series, . Star Blazers was first broadcast in the United States in 1979. Significantly, it was the first popular English-translated anime that had an over-arching plot and storyline that required the episodes to...
, Ganymede has a base where the Yamoto/Argo goes for repairs while fighting the Comet Empire. - In the animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series Cowboy BebopCowboy Bebopis a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...
(1998), Ganymede is depicted as an aquatic planet, a terraformedTerraformingTerraforming of a planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its atmosphere, temperature, surface topography or ecology to be similar to those of Earth, in order to make it habitable by terrestrial organisms.The term is sometimes used more generally as a...
world that is entirely covered in water. Animal life, most likely created by human intervention, is also depicted, such as the Ganymede searat, a species of rodent-like seal. About 7 million people live on it in floating colonies which are supported on large barge-type foundations. The character Jet Black was a police officer on Ganymede, and presumably was born there. Jet also has a watch that is apparently from Ganymede which seems to imply a 30-hour day. Jet has been quoted during the series (Episode Hard Luck Woman) saying "A woman's heart is as fickle as the skies of Ganymede." - In the anime series GeneshaftGeneshaftis a Japanese science fiction anime television series set in space, produced by Bandai Visual in 2001, and directed by Kazuki Akane...
, Ganymede is the home of a human research outpost. It is also the former home of the extinct race that are assumed to have created humanity, the Giants of Ganymede. Their technology was unearthed and studied, culminating in the construction of the Bilkis and the Shaft. - In the anime Getter Robo ArmageddonGetter Robo Armageddon, often simply referred to as Change!! Getter Robo in Japan, is an original video animation released in 1998 by Bandai Visual, based on the manga and anime series Getter Robo, created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa...
, after Invaders caused Jupiter and many of its moons to become a new Getter Ray Sun, Ganymede was thrown out of its orbit beside Jupiter and was then on a collision course with Earth, prompting the Getter Robos to stop the disaster. - Ganymede is the location of a mining colony in the series "Return to JupiterReturn to JupiterReturn to Jupiter was an Australian television series, a 13-part follow-up to Escape from Jupiter, It aired in Australia from 23 March 1997 to 15 June 1997.-Plot:...
".
Games
- In the 32nd Millennium of the Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
(1987) Universe, Ganymede is destroyed during a Warp Core experiment that goes horribly wrong. - In the DOS game One Must Fall: 2097One Must Fall: 2097One Must Fall: 2097 is a combat-oriented computer game for all IBM-compatible computers, programmed by Diversions Entertainment. It has a sequel, One Must Fall: Battlegrounds.-Background:...
, the prize for victory in the tournament is the development right to Ganymede, which is also the home of the Angels, who seek to prevent their home being developed. - In the PC game FOMFace of MankindFace of Mankind is a first and third-person massively multiplayer online action role playing game set in a futuristic persistent world. The game is played from a variety of points of view...
, Ganymede is a space colony which has been terraformed to support humanity. - In the game Target EarthTarget Earth (video game)Target Earth is a video game developed by NCS Corp in 1990 for the Sega Genesis and the Sega Mega Drive. It has since been re-released on the Wii as a Virtual Console product in Japan. Target Earth is the English translation of the original Japanese version, Assault Suit Leynos...
for Sega Genesis, the first level "Assault on Ganymede", takes place on a space station set on Ganymede where the space-outcast enemies make their first strike. - In the PS1 game Carnage HeartCarnage HeartCarnage Heart is a video game for the PlayStation, developed by Artdink. Its gameplay is a mecha-based, turn-based strategy game, where the player takes the role of a commander in a war fought by robots...
, Ganymede is one of three of Jupiter's moons on which you battle to defend the mining outposts from the Drakken Group, a huge conglomerate comprising a few hundred of the worlds biggest corporations. - In the PC game ShadowgroundsShadowgroundsShadowgrounds is a shoot 'em up for Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OS X, developed by Frozenbyte. The game takes place on a space colony on Ganymede which is being attacked by aliens...
and its sequel Shadowgrounds SurvivorShadowgrounds SurvivorShadowgrounds Survivor is a shooter game developed by Frozenbyte and the sequel to Shadowgrounds. It has three playable characters, a RPG-like upgrade system for weapons and characters, a survival mode, graphics enhanced from its predecessor, an integrated physics engine, and a soundtrack by Ari...
, the story takes place in colonized and terraformed Ganymede. - In Halo 3, the EVA armor was built in a zero-g testing facility on Ganymede.
- In Spore, Ganymede is one of the planets (or, in this case moons) from the Sol system that the player can terraform and colonize.
Callisto
Callisto (moon)
Callisto named after the Greek mythological figure of Callisto) is a moon of the planet Jupiter. It was discovered in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. It is the third-largest moon in the Solar System and the second largest in the Jovian system, after Ganymede. Callisto has about 99% the diameter of the...
is the outermost of the Galilean satellites. It is a large moon, only slightly smaller than the planet Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
. It is cold, icy, and heavily cratered, with a very tenuous atmosphere. Despite its size, it has not been featured in fiction as much as the other Galilean satellites.
Literature
- In H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
's Beyond the Wall of SleepBeyond the Wall of Sleep (short story)"Beyond the Wall of Sleep" is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft written in 1919 and first published in the amateur publication Pine Cones in October 1919.-Inspiration:...
(1919), the writer mentions in passing "the insectInsectInsects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
-philosophers that crawl proudly over the fourth moon of Jupiter." - In Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's story "The Callistan MenaceThe Callistan MenaceThe Callistan Menace is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It first appeared in the April 1940 issue of Astonishing Stories and was reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov...
" (1940), Callisto has an atmosphere of carbon dioxide and is inhabited by large slugs that use magnetic fields to stun their prey. - Lin CarterLin CarterLinwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
's eight-novel Callisto seriesCallisto seriesThe Callisto series is a sequence of eight science fiction novels by Lin Carter, of the sword and planet subgenre, first published by Dell Books from 1972-1978...
(1972–1978), consisting of Jandar of CallistoJandar of CallistoJandar of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the first in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in December 1972, and reprinted twice through September 1977. The first British edition was published by Orbit Books in 1974...
, Black Legion of CallistoBlack Legion of CallistoBlack Legion of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the second in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in December 1972, and reprinted twice through January 1974. The first British edition was published by Orbit Books in 1975...
, Sky Pirates of CallistoSky Pirates of CallistoSky Pirates of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the third in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in January 1973, and reprinted twice through April 1974. The first British edition was published by Orbit Books in 1975...
, Mad Empress of CallistoMad Empress of CallistoMad Empress of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the fourth in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in February 1975...
, Mind Wizards of CallistoMind Wizards of CallistoMind Wizards of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the fifth in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in March 1975...
, Lankar of CallistoLankar of CallistoLankar of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the sixth in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in June 1975...
, Ylana of CallistoYlana of CallistoYlana of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the seventh in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in October 1977...
and Renegade of CallistoRenegade of CallistoRenegade of Callisto is a science fiction novel written by Lin Carter, the eighth and last in his Callisto series. It was first published in paperback by Dell Books in August 1978, and reprinted once, in November of the same year. A tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs's The Chessmen of Mars, the book...
, is set on an inhabitable Callisto. - In Piers AnthonyPiers AnthonyPiers Anthony Dillingham Jacob is an English American writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is most famous for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth.Many of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best...
's science fiction series "Bio of a Space Tyrant" (1983-), Callisto is the home planet of Hope Hubris, the Tyrant of Jupiter. - The protagonist of Anne McCaffreyAnne McCaffreyAnne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...
's telepathic-society novel The RowanThe RowanThe Rowan is the first book in "The Tower and the Hive" series by Anne McCaffrey. It is set in the universe of the "Pegasus" trilogy, against a backdrop of a technologically advanced society in which telepathy, psychokinesis and other psychic Talents have become scientifically accepted and...
(1990) lives in a terraformed dome on Callisto. - Kim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
's novel Blue MarsMars trilogyThe Mars trilogy is a series of award-winning science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the intensely personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost two centuries...
(1996) contains a description of a flourishing colony on Callisto. - In the novel WheelersWheelers (novel)Wheelers is a science fiction novel authored by English mathematician Ian Stewart and reproductive biologist Jack Cohen, figures notable for both their personal scholarly work and numerous individual and collaborative contributions to the world of science fiction...
by Ian StewartIan Stewart (mathematician)Ian Nicholas Stewart FRS is a professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick, England, and a widely known popular-science and science-fiction writer. He is the first recipient of the , awarded jointly by the LMS and the IMA for his work on promoting mathematics.-Biography:Stewart was born...
and Jack CohenJack Cohen (scientist)Jack Cohen, FIBiol is a British reproductive biologist also known for his popular science books and involvement with science fiction.-Life:...
, a number of alien artifacts are found on Callisto shortly before the Galilean moons are observed to move, triggering the main events of the story. - In Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
's short-story "The Mold of YancyThe Mold of Yancy"The Mold of Yancy" is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick, first published in 1955. It is published in volume four of The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, The Days of Perky Pat....
", colonists on Callisto conform to the messages of the near-constant broadcasts of the eponymous public commentator, Yancy, as he comments on almost every aspect of daily life. - In Paul J. McAuley's The Quiet War (2008), Callisto is home to one of the earliest "Outer" solar system colonial settlements, and has recently been gifted a genetically engineered biomeBiomeBiomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...
. - In Robert A. HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's Farmer in the SkyFarmer in the SkyFarmer In The Sky is a 1953 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein about a teenaged boy who emigrates with his family to Jupiter's moon Ganymede, which is in the process of being terraformed. A condensed version of the novel was published in serial form in 1950 in Boys' Life magazine , under...
(1950) colonists on GanymedeGanymede (moon)Ganymede is a satellite of Jupiter and the largest moon in the Solar System. It is the seventh moon and third Galilean satellite outward from Jupiter. Completing an orbit in roughly seven days, Ganymede participates in a 1:2:4 orbital resonance with the moons Europa and Io, respectively...
mention that efforts to introduce an atmosphere have begun on Callisto.
Comics/Manga
- In the mangaMangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
version of the Japanese animated TV show Space Battleship YamatoSpace Battleship Yamatois a Japanese science fiction anime series featuring an eponymous spacecraft. It is also known to English-speaking audiences as Space Cruiser Yamato; an English-dubbed and heavily edited version of the series was broadcast on North American and Australian television as Star Blazers...
, ("Starblazers"), the YamatoSpace Battleship Yamato (spaceship)Space Battleship Yamato is the title spaceship from the anime series Space Battleship Yamato and was designed by Leiji Matsumoto. According to the fictional continuity of the anime series, the spacecraft was built inside the remains of the Japanese battleship Yamato...
headed for Callisto on a rescue mission. It was here that the Yamato (known as the ArgoArgoIn Greek mythology, the Argo was the ship on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to retrieve the Golden Fleece. It was named after its builder, Argus.-Legend:...
) was held hostage by Gamilon forces. - In the DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
storyline Superman: World of New KryptonSuperman: World of New KryptonSuperman: World of New Krypton is a twelve-issue American comic book limited series produced by DC Comics. It is written by the team of James Robinson and Greg Rucka, who at the time of this publication are the current writers of the Superman and Action Comics titles, and illustrated by artist Pete...
, 100,000 Kryptonians create a counter-EarthCounter-EarthThe Counter-Earth is a hypothetical body of the Solar system first hypothesized by the presocratic philosopher Philolaus to support his non-geocentric cosmology, in which all objects in the universe revolve around a Central Fire...
in the solar system to be their new home. They take Callisto to be their moon in order to provide tides for their new planet.
Art
- In Frank R. PaulFrank R. PaulFrank Rudolph Paul was an illustrator of US pulp magazines in the science fiction field. He was born in Vienna, Austria and died at his home in Teaneck, New Jersey....
's series of back cover illustrations for Amazing StoriesAmazing StoriesAmazing Stories was an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction...
(August 1940, December 1941), Callisto was inhabited by blue-skinned, white-haired, four-tentacled humanoids. Their city, Serenis, consists of colonnaded dwellings around the rim of a green lake.
Film and television
- Jupiter MoonJupiter MoonJupiter Moon was a science fiction television series first broadcast by BSB's Galaxy Channel from 26 March 1990 until December the same year. 150 episodes were commissioned, but only the first 108 were broadcast by BSB...
(1990) was a short-lived British soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
. It was set on a space university that orbited Callisto. - Cowboy BebopCowboy Bebopis a critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 Japanese anime series directed by Shinichirō Watanabe, written by Keiko Nobumoto, and produced by Sunrise. Its 26 episodes comprise a complete storyline: set in 2071, the series follows the adventures, misadventures and tragedies of five bounty...
(1998) features a snowy, Siberia-like Callisto, filled with fugitives and populated only by men. - TerrahawksTerrahawksGerry Anderson & Christopher Burr's Terrahawks, simply referred to as Terrahawks, was a British science fiction television series produced by Anderson Burr Pictures and created by the production team of Gerry Anderson and Christopher Burr. The show was Anderson's first in over a decade to utilize...
(1983) Series 1, Episode 8, "The Sporilla" is set in a radio surveillance post on Callisto.
Games
- In the game Zone of the Enders: The 2nd RunnerZone of the Enders: The 2nd RunnerZone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, known in Japan as , is a video game that was developed and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2003. The sequel to Zone of the Enders, the game was produced by, and is closely associated with Hideo Kojima. The game is based around mecha combat...
(2003), the protagonist, Dingo Egret, finds the Orbital Frame Jehuty buried in ice under Callisto's surface. It is also on Callisto, that Metatron is discovered. - In the video game series G-PoliceG-PoliceG-Police is a shooter video game, developed and published by Psygnosis in 1997 for the PlayStation and PC. The game spawned a single sequel, G-Police: Weapons of Justice, released in 1999 for the PlayStation. This sequel received similar reviews to those of the original game...
, your character is a pilot for a police force on Callisto. - In the computer game DescentDescent (video game)Descent is a 3D first-person shooter video game developed by Parallax Software and released by Interplay Entertainment Corp. in 1995. The game features six degrees of freedom gameplay and garnered several expansion packs...
, level 12 takes place at the Callisto Tower Colony. - In the PS1 game Carnage HeartCarnage HeartCarnage Heart is a video game for the PlayStation, developed by Artdink. Its gameplay is a mecha-based, turn-based strategy game, where the player takes the role of a commander in a war fought by robots...
, Callisto is one of three of Jupiter's moons on which you battle to defend the mining outposts from the Drakken Group, a huge conglomerate comprising a few hundred of the worlds biggest corporations. - In the arcade game Captain CommandoCaptain Commandois a futuristic side-scrolling beat 'em up game originally developed and published by Capcom as a coin-operated video game, and later ported to several other platforms. It was the seventeenth title produced for the company's CP System hardware...
, Callisto is the last stage, and headquarters of the game's main villain Scumocide.
Amalthea
Amalthea (moon)
Amalthea is the third moon of Jupiter in order of distance from the planet. It was discovered on September 9, 1892, by Edward Emerson Barnard and named after Amalthea, a nymph in Greek mythology. It is also known as '....
, or Jupiter V, is the third moon from Jupiter and the largest of the inner satellites of Jupiter.
- Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
's short story "Jupiter FiveJupiter Five"Jupiter Five" is a science fiction short story by Arthur C. Clarke first published in the magazine If in 1953. It appeared again in Clarke's collection of short stories Reach for Tomorrow, in 1956, and deals with the detection and exploration of an old spaceship from outside the Solar System.-Plot...
" (1951) is set on Amalthea; its plot depends on the moon's weak gravity, and explores what might happen if an astronaut were thrown from its surface. - James BlishJames BlishJames Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
's Cities in Flight series begins with the story They Shall Have Stars (1956), where a base has been established on Jupiter V. This base is the remote operations centre for the Bridge Project on Jupiter proper. - The Way to AmaltheaThe Way to AmaltheaThe Way to Amalthea also known as Destination: Amaltheia is an early science fiction short story by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky written in 1959...
is a scifi story by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky written in 1959. - In an early draft of 2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey (novel)2001: A Space Odyssey is a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It was developed concurrently with Stanley Kubrick's film version and published after the release of the film...
novel the giant monolith is located on the surface of Amalthea (according to Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
in The Lost Worlds of 2001The Lost Worlds of 2001The Lost Worlds of 2001 by Arthur C. Clarke was published in 1972 by Signet as an accompaniment to the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey.The book itself consists in part of behind-the-scenes notes from Clarke concerning scriptwriting , as well as production issues...
[1972]). - In the SHMUP Sol-Deace, the strongest line of the villain's defense and sixth level is on Amalthea.
- Paul Preuss' Venus PrimeVenus PrimeVenus Prime is a series of six science fiction novels written by Paul Preuss, based on characters and locations in Arthur C. Clarke's short stories....
series book five, The Diamond Moon, and six, The Shining Ones, deal with the exploration of Amalthea. - In the X-Entertainment Advent CalendarAdvent calendarAn Advent calendar is a special calendar which is used to count or celebrate the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Some calendars are strictly religious, whereas others are secular in content...
, the villains Hare Winningham and Hssxxllo Usall were imprisoned on Amalthea. - In the 1982 TV series of Astroboy, Amalthea is destroyed by the illegal test-firing of an anti-proton gun, with disastrous consequences.
- In Dan SimmonsDan SimmonsDan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
's OlymposOlympos (novel)Olympos, Dan Simmons' novel published in 2005, is the sequel to Ilium and final part of Ilium/Olympos duology. Like its predecessor it is a work of science fiction, and contains many literary references: it blends together Homer's epics the Iliad and the Odyssey, Shakespeare's The Tempest, and has...
, the moravec Retrograde Sinopessen is a member of the Five Moons Consortium from Amalthea.
Pasiphaë
PasiphaëPasiphaë (moon)
Pasiphaë is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered in 1908 by Philibert Jacques Melotte and later named after the mythological Pasiphaë, wife of Minos and mother of the Minotaur from Greek legend....
(Jupiter VIII) is used as a setting in John Varley's
John Varley (author)
John Herbert Varley is an American science fiction author.-Biography:Varley grew up in Fort Worth, Texas, moved to Port Arthur in 1957, and graduated from Nederland High School. He went to Michigan State University on a National Merit Scholarship because, of the schools that he could afford, it...
novel The Ophiuchi Hotline
The Ophiuchi Hotline
The Ophiuchi Hotline is a Locus nominated 1977 science fiction novel by John Varley. It opens in the year 2618.-Background to the author's work:...
, though it is referred to by its pre-1975 name, 'Poseidon'.
Sinope
SinopeSinope (moon)
Sinope is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Lick Observatory in 1914, and is named after Sinope of Greek mythology....
, or Jupiter IX, is a small irregular satellite of Jupiter. From the time of its discovery in 1914 until the discovery of Megaclite
Megaclite (moon)
Megaclite , also known as ', is a natural satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by a team of astronomers from the University of Hawaii led by Scott S...
in 2000, it was the outermost of Jupiter's known moons. It is still the most distant Jovian moon to have a diameter of more than 10 km.
- In Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
's 1957 novel Lucky Starr and the Moons of JupiterLucky Starr and the Moons of JupiterLucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter is the fifth novel in the Lucky Starr series, six juvenile science fiction novels by Isaac Asimov that originally appeared under the pseudonym Paul French. The novel was first published by Doubleday & Company in August 1957...
, an experimental ship design is located on "Jupiter Nine". Asimov erroneously calls the moon "Adrastea", although in 1957 it had no official name and had been unofficially dubbed "Hades", while "Adrastea" was unofficially used for Jupiter XII (now called AnankeAnanke (moon)Ananke is a retrograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Seth Barnes Nicholson at Mount Wilson Observatory in 1951 and is named after the mythological Ananke, the personification of Necessity, and the mother of the Moirae by Zeus...
). Asimov's confusion may have arisen from the fact that, of the moons known in the 1950s, Jupiter IX was the twelfth most distant from Jupiter, and Jupiter XII was the ninth. To add to the confusion, AdrasteaAdrastea (moon)Adrastea , also known as ', is the second by distance, and the smallest of the four inner moons of Jupiter. It was discovered in Voyager 2 probe photographs taken in 1979, making it the first natural satellite to be discovered from images taken by an interplanetary spacecraft, rather than...
is now used as the name of an inner satellite of Jupiter that was not discovered until 1979. - In ExosquadExosquadExosquad is an American animated television series created by Universal Cartoon Studios as a response to Japanese anime. The show is set in the beginning of the 22nd century and covers the interplanetary war between humanity and Neosapiens, a fictional race artificially created as workers/slaves...
(1993–1995), Sinope was the location of the NeosapienNeosapienThe Neosapiens , featured in the science fiction animated television series Exosquad, are a fictional race of genetically engineered sentient humanoids.-Background:...
s' top-secret super-weapon, Fusion Pulse Cannon. After the Cannon has been destroyed by the TerransExofleetExofleet is the name for all battle spaceships in the sci-fi animated television series Exosquad, built by the humans of the Homeworlds also known as the Terran space navy...
, Sinope was blown to asteroidAsteroidAsteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
s by the explosion and, thus, ceased to exist.
Other
- The B-movieB-movieA B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
Fire Maidens from Outer SpaceFire Maidens from Outer SpaceFire Maidens from Outer Space , released in the USA as Fire Maidens of Outer Space, is a 78-minute black-and-white science fiction feature film...
(1956), features a space mission to "Jupiter's thirteenth moon". This cannot refer to the moon now numbered Jupiter XIII (LedaLeda (moon)Leda , also known as ', is a prograde irregular satellite of Jupiter. It was discovered by Charles T. Kowal at the Mount Palomar Observatory on September 14, 1974, after three nights' worth of photographic plates had been taken...
), as it was not discovered until 1974, long after the film was made.