Callisto
Ownership: UCP
Diameter: 4821 km
Callisto is the second largest moon of Jupiter, the third largest in the Sol system, about the same size as the planet Mercury. It orbits just beyond Jupiter's main radiation belt. Callisto is the most heavily cratered satellite in the Sol system. Its crust is very ancient and dates back 4 billion years, just shortly after the system was formed.
Important facilities
- Jupiter Control is the main traffic control station for the Jovian system.
- Callisto Spaceport, the moon's major spaceport.
- Jovian Deuterium Plant, a manufacturing plant for fusion fuel.
- Callisto Weapons Research Facility
Topography
Callisto lacks any large mountains. This is probably due to the icy nature of its surface. Impact craters and associated concentric rings are about the only features to be found on Callisto. The largest craters have been erased by the flow of the icy crust over geologic time. Two enormous concentric ring, impact basins are found on Callisto. The largest impact basin is known as Valhalla. It has a bright central region that is 600 kilometers in diameter, and its rings extend to 3000 kilometers in diameter. The second impact basin is Asgard. It measures about 1600 kilometers in diameter.
Composition
Callisto has the lowest density (1.86 gm/cm3) of the Galilean satellites. It is composed of a crust about 200 kilometers thick. Beneath the crust is a salty ocean more than 10 kilometers thick. Beneath the ocean, is an unusual interior that is not entirely uniform nor does it vary dramatically. It is composed of compressed rock and ice with the percentage of rock increasing as depth increases. Meteorites have punctured holes in Callisto's crust, causing water to spread over the surface and forming bright rays and rings around the crater. Callisto has no atmosphere.
Culture
The wastes of Callisto are the self-claimed property of several squatters seeking out an existence in mining sulfurous ores and gases.
