Could people really live on Titan? Netflix's new sci-fi film isn't that far-fetched

Netflix has been launching a barrage of new science-fiction content lately, with original series like Stranger Things and Altered Carbon and new movies such as The Cloverfield Paradox and Mute pretty much taking over the channel. And they're continuing that trend with their next blockbuster, The Titan, which sees an attempt to colonize Titan, a moon of Saturn, after the Earth's resources become depleted. But could people really live on Titan, or is this purely the stuff of science fiction?

The film doesn't really make the case that Titan could support human life; at least not without some modifications. The movie stars Sam Worthington as an Air Force pilot who is chosen to undergo a military experiment that will turn him into a superhuman capable of surviving on Titan; since the climate there is portrayed as far less hospitable than that of Earth. The experiment of course goes wildly wrong, as Worthington's character is transformed into a violent and uncontrollable mutant before ever even fulfilling his mission of being sent to Titan. The movie never claims that human beings could just happily set up a new society on Titan without these superpowered transformations, and real world science seems to back up the film's position. In other words, as far as we know, Titan would not be inhabitable for humans - at least not without some modifications.

3rd April 2018