Der'maan

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Der'maan
Astrography
Star Szon
Type Snowball moon
Primary Ucharpli
Gravity 0.4 G
Orbital distance 1.5 AU
Day length 60.4 days
Year length 60.4 days
Diameter 4,012 km
Axial tilt Zero
Temperature
Average -10°C
Minimum -80°C
Maximum 60°C
Atmosphere
Composition 67% carbon dioxide, 32% ethane, 1% other
Surface pressure 0.8 atm
Demographics
Population 100,834
Imports Minerals
Exports Helium-3, iron

Der'maan is the largest of Ucharpli's two moons.

Etymology

In Khathic religion, it is believed that soldiers who die honorably in battle will ascend to the plane of Der'maan to await the final battle with Vernietigen. Ancient Vaikan believed that when only one of the two moons is visible in the sky, one's fortune will be affected - looking directly at Der'maan when Revlis'maan is not visible will result in good luck. In the case of vice versa, bad luck will arrive.

Atmoshpere

The atmosphere consists of mostly carbon dioxide and ethane with trace gases. Water vapor is regularly released into the air via geysers.

Geography

Der'maan was once believed to have been a dwarf planet that was captured by Ucharpli. Vast amounts of water can be found locked deep within the moon's core. As Der'maan came closer to the sun, radiation blasts begun tearing at the moon's crust releasing the water to the surface into geyser. The tidal pull from both Revlis'maan and Ucharpli caused a major cryovolcanic eruption roughly 300,000 years ago which created a ring system around the moon.

Early astronomers once thought that Der'maan had continuous geysers that were affected by the phases of the moon. With the advent of space exploration, this proved to no longer be the case. Even so, geological scans show that the moon still experiences seismic activity, yet geysers are significantly rare.

Colonization

Der'maan is the first line of defense before Revlis'maan and the Orbital Defense Grid in the event of an attack on Ucharpli. Because of this, Der'maan is a major military outpost.

Surprising for a terrestrial world, Der'maan has deposits of helium-3 allowing Der'maan's settlements to have its own independent sources of energy.

Ecosystem

Life on Der'maan is only limited to primitive life living in the moon's underground oceans. Deep inside, one can find a variety of lichens and mosses as well as worm-like creatures (known as Angel Worms) can be found.

Flora

  • Spichen - A growth of lichen hanging from the ceilings of Der'maan's caves in the shape of a spike.

Fauna

  • Angel Worm - A bioluminescent creature that scavenges for food on the flooded cave floor.