Titan Rover, the remotely operated robotic ambient machine which landed on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan from the orbiting Cassini-Huygens research spacecraft, has sent back a steady stream of information since coming on line in early 2007.
Some of this data may well have a practical application to planet Earth in relation to mitigation of global warming and has been the subject of intensive testing at the Polytechnic Institute of Nevada in Las Vegas, under the direction of Senior Chemo-physicist, Dr Hu.
As readers will be aware, the atmosphere of Titan consists of 65% methane (CH4) and 30% carbon dioxide (CO2), making a potent mix of greenhouse gases and keeping the Saturnian moon at a higher temperature than might otherwise be the case for an orbiting body at that distance from the Sun.
Although there is a continual seeping of both methane and carbon dioxide from the Saturnian moon's interior, the levels of both gases in the atmosphere remain constant in both volume and density, and it seems that this balance is maintained by a steady level of precipitation.
Under precise climatic conditions of both temperature and pressure, tiny amounts of argon in the atmosphere act as a catalyst to bind the molecules of methane and carbon dioxide together to form an extremely stable compound known as di-methyl carbargonate.
This compound is subsequently precipitated onto the moon’s surface in a solid form similar in appearance to fine terrestrial hail, where it forms a thick, solid layer reaching several hundred metres in depth. As these levels rise, the atmospheric balance remains constant.
Dr Hu reasons that as more greenhouse gases are produced on Earth by out-gassing ruminants (e.g. cattle, wildebeest etc.) than from the combined effects of all human industrial activity, addressing greenhouse gas production from the former source may well offer a huge return on investment.
The Polytechnic Institute has isolated a gene from the Mexican Jumping Bean which, when spliced into cattle DNA, can result in cattle out-gassing at uniform and precisely determined intervals.
This means that if cattle are herded together in specially designed out-gassing stations in the same way they come in for milking, powerful suction fans could collect and compress the resultant gases into retorts where specific levels of pressure, temperature and catalytic argon could convert the gases into a solid form of di-methyl carbargonate suitable for land fill, road base, building blocks or possibly even a causeway linking the island of Galveston to the mainland, as di-methyl carbargonate is not water soluble.
In fact, in as little as 75 years, enough fill could be produced from US cattle alone to completely reclaim the Gulf of Mexico, or link England to Holland, thus doing away with all those costly dikes, while an entire city such as New Orleans could be raised to an altitude of 50 metres above sea level in as little as 5 years.
A pilot study is currently underway at a redundant former Las Vegas casino serving as an out-gassing station, using complex machinery to extract and compress atmospheric carbon dioxide and combine it with the collected methane and catalytic argon stored under pressure in external gas tanks.
The internal components of the complex compressor can be seen in this photo (opposite page, bottom right), where the Doctor is making delicate adjustments to one of the turbines to ensure the correct pressure is achieved for the mixture of Carbon Dioxide and Methane before the catalytic Argon is introduced into the system.
The European Union has offered its full support, while the Russians wish to explore further gene manipulation so as to have the methane expelled only in winter time so that it can be transported as blocks of naturally quick-frozen methane ice.
Russian animal rights groups have expressed concern that over-inflated cattle awaiting treatment could potentially be blown across the steppes by strong winds, causing distress amongst the cattle, but this will be averted by hanging war surplus artillery shells around their necks as ballast.
Whether the African wildebeest can ever get factored into the equation is a moot point as they are found in wild, constantly migrating herds, however the Buffalo in places like Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma are likely candidates for inclusion. Britain proposes to hold its own trials on a farm in West Yorkshire.