Colonizing Mercury

Today we take a trip inward, to explore Sun-Scorched Mercury.
Mercury is the nearest planet to the Sun, a seeming airless wasteland little discussed in conversations about colonizing our solar system. Today we will challenge that, and show that Mercury may be one of the most promising places for humanity to make new homes on.
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Credits:
Outward Bound: Colonizing Mercury
Season 4, Episode 23
Writers:
Isaac Arthur
Editors:
A.T. Long
Darius Said
Derek Hightower
Edward Nardella
Keith Blockus
Jerry Guern
Luca DeRosa
Luke Parrish
Mark Warburton
Oliver Epsom
Sam McNamara
Sigmund Kopperud
Producer:
Isaac Arthur
Cover Artist:
Jakub Grygier www.artstation.com/jakub_grygier
Graphics Team:
Jarred Eagley
Jeremy Jozwik
Justin Dixon
Katie Byrne
Ken York
Kris Holland (Mafic Studios) www.maficstudios.com
Kristijan Tavar
Mihail Yordanov
Sergio Botero www.artstation.com/sboterod?f...
Narrator:
Isaac Arthur
Music Manager:
Luca De Rosa - [e-mail]
Music:
Markus Junnikkala, "Hail the Victorious Dead" www.markusjunnikkala.com/
Koalips, "Kvazar" freemusicarchive.org/music/Koa...
Aerium, "Fifth Star of Aldebaran" / @officialaerium
Kai Engel, "Endless Story about Sun and Moon" www.kai-engel.com/
Denny Schneidemesser, "Across the Universe" / denny-schneidemesser
Lombus, "Cosmic Soup" lombus.bandcamp.com

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Here's that interview link if anyone's having problems finding it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/haOonaV3Yrann9E There is a second chunk in what the call their "After Dark session" but that's not in that link which is a reupload trimmed of various live production lags and error, you can find that over on our community tab. I noticed it was flagged as unlisted now so didn't want to post that as our link here

[@adamflaherty9909]

I cant finish watching your videos without grinning like an idiot by the time I'm done.

[@entropygenerator2646]

Hey Isaac . Unrelated question, but could you link me to the VPN service that you recommended in one of your videos please?. I can't find it. pls halp

[@globaltheater9343]

Is there a possibility of just sitting and listening to you all in your discord? (Quiet of course)

[@SkywalkerWroc]

21:44 - that's not how gravity works. Planet having high speed is no benefit to interstellar flight. It's nonsense. You're confusing things. Mercury is literally the worst planet in solar system to begin interstellar travel from, it's extremely expensive, it's worse than traveling from Earth to Mars and then back to Earth before going interstellar, that's how much delta-v it takes to get out from Mercury to even Earth's orbit, yet alone further out the solar system. [edit] sorry, but have to point it out: This mistake, repeated again at the end of the video makes the advert of brilliant.org quite hilarious.

[@UFBMusic]

Hey Isaac, killer video as always. I didn't manage to watch the one last week, so I'm doing a double feature tonight! Also I've been reading the craziest series, which you would absolutely love! Look up Worldwar by Harry Turtledove, assuming you haven't read it already. The gist of it is that there is an alien invasion in the middle of WW2, but the aliens were expecting us to still be on horseback, since the latest intelligence they had was from 800 years ago. Since their society had been stable for 100,000 years, they assumed everyone else would be the same, and hadn't expected us to develop so quickly.

[@tanostrelok2323]

Average science channels: You can't colonize planets outside of the habitabile zone. Isaac: Hold my coffee.

[@riot2136]

dude, no

[@carlosandleon]

@Michal Zušťák you'd have to consider quality of life

[@HardKore5250]

Michal Zušťák Get robots to do it

[@lilosnitch3247]

Scientist also says that microorganisms need proper tenperature and pressure to survive... Yet u see prokaryots thriving in deep osmotic sea levels and inside volcanoes.. Science says its not possible,until proven possible

[@ottopike6000]

@Jim Morrison I think that you're underestimating the multiplicative complexity of an organism. There may not be enough materials in the Galaxy to build a computer capable of this project. At least not optimally.

[@ArtosFIN]

Wow, never thought Mercury could be such a cool place to colonize

[@misium]

Maybe "cool" is not necessarily the word you're looking for.

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

misium Au contraire, Mercury is (one of?) the coldest(?) place(s?) in the solar system. Also nearly the hottest.

[@lilosnitch3247]

@@misium dont be right a the middle of the sun but dont be at the far back...its tidally locked so u have to find a middle ground

[@user-ge8yn4ql4i]

@@lilosnitch3247 reading this just as Isaac mentions the fact Mercury /isn't/ tidally locked.

[@daveelson3708]

It isn't

[@badt8man55]

Mercury is very underrated as a planet

[@classarank7youtubeherokeyb63]

Eh, I give it a 6/10. Too much sun.

[@conveyor2]

Sunscreen.

[@swargpatel7634]

Class A, Rank 7; KZbin Hero: Keyboard Warrior your a human, how the heck are you rating a planet?

[@user-tk2lf1dv3s]

it's basically a better mars

[@newhorizon3229]

@@user-tk2lf1dv3sa worse mars

[@solanumtinkr8280]

How interesting could a topic possibly be on living on hot ball of rock far too close to the sun? ... Very! Great video :)

[@theapexsurvivor9538]

@BLAIR M Schirmer it can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, and it absolutely will not stop, even after you're dead.

[@SeraSmiles]

I was not looking forward to this episode. It looked like filler in the middle of an awesome series of episodes when I saw the schedule. I was wrong. This is your best 'colonizing X' video. Great job Isaac

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Yeah it got skipped originally for that reason, I didn't want to do any episode that wasn't really introducing new ideas and methods, but as I got asked about it I thought on it more and more, and gave it a tentative 'yes', after brainstorming with the Crew I'm kicking myself for having not had it in the original sequence, so many options

[@kokofan50]

Colonizing the Sun was better. However, this one was a real surprise.

[@ivanvukasovic1371]

I myself enjoyed Titan episode, learned what Carnot engine is. I enjoyed the Jupiter episode even more, he showed how the diversity of Jovian system's resources is not a hindrance, but an opportunity to emplement different strenghts and weaknesses of each of its bodies, and if we use all of that (combined with hydrogen fuelled propulsion), we could make a mini solar system out of Jovian system itself. Even more, when he went into planet moving, and decided to move Jupiter and its moons on a galactic cruise. It was kinda wholesome, it would be like giving Jupiter a retirement, saying: 'you guarded us from those asteroids for so long, now that we know how to do that ourselves, we will take you to see the universe. Thanks, big bro, here's a free galactic trip for you'.

[@entropygenerator2646]

I love the outward bound series...Thank you to everyone involved

[@atlanciawethmar2257]

Stephanie Warren agreed :-)

[@your_princess_azula]

Same!

[@garyk3478]

Might be the second-hottest real estate market in the solar system!

[@keithlee7735]

I've got to admit that thought crossed my mind too. ...wanders off to see if Elon Musk will consider a partnership ;)

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

You forgot the sun. SFIA wants to colonize that too!

[@hithere5553]

Third, technically.

[@marrqi7wini54]

@@hithere5553 Oh yeah. He did cover colonizing the sun. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnLTZX2ehdSDh7s

[@LackaJudgment]

I always thought Mercury was sadly overlooked and underutilized in sci-fi lore as well, glad to see someone giving it the attention it deserves!

[@jasper8285]

Isaac Arthur, i'm writing a sci-fi book and I have to thank you for showing how powerful the Sol system can be, both economical, military, and industrial. Thank you for all the work you have done good sir and keep up the good work.

[@MalcadorTheSigilite]

It's the best day of the week. It's Arthurday

[@leemurray5125]

Malcador Sigilite you mean arthursday.. right?

[@Paint2D_]

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson is also a interesting book set on Mercury.

[@tterby1]

Grischa _ I'm working on it now. It's very interesting.

[@raeneshadow]

Came here to post exactly this. His idea for a mobile city was brilliant and the pebble storm idea also blew my mind.

[@Ag3nt0fCha0s]

thanks for the tip!

[@willc1294]

@@raeneshadow haven't read that book, but one of the characters in his mars trilogy series spent some time on Mercury and a city moving along on tracks is mentioned iirc..

[@dirus3142]

Robinson has his Terminus colony show up in several books. The Mars series, and I think Memory of Whiteness.

[@pussywran]

Outward bound series needs to be made into a television show

[@XenoRaptor-98765]

Your KZbin channel is more educational than animal planet and discovery channel in these days

[@SeraSmiles]

I would watch the hell out of a political drama where Earth, Venus, Mercury, Mars, & various outer system colonies fight over who's going to be the main power in Sol.

[@sjeses]

There's quit a bit of that in The Expanse. Maybe not to the depth of your liking, but they have spent a lot of effort on getting the science and power structures right. Maybe a half decent filler until something more political comes along.

[@buu678]

TV is out of date. It's days are numbered. Netflix , hulu or amazon is the way.

[@SeraSmiles]

sjeses I was actually picturing it as 'the expanse, but if Isaac was brought in'

[@DaFinkingOrk]

Sometimes I get a bit sad when I think it's Thursday but then realise it's Wednesday. That's how much I love and look forward to your videos Isaac! And I know so many others do so even more than I do! As two examples: You have taught me of ideas I never thought possible - like colonozing Mercury - and so many amazing ideas of space, the future, and humanity's place within them, that go far beyond what's even briefly crossed my mind. And you're a huge inspiration. I'm sure both sci-fi writers and scientific video producers are hugely inspired by your work. As well as science teachers, which I am preparing to become, thanks in no small part to your sustenance and kindling of my interest in science. I also would like to start producing educational and exploratory/speculative biology videos for youtube, very much inspired by your channel - though different in nature and topics, and I don't even remotely hope to attain the same quality of course! You are fantastic Isaac! And your team! We all appreciate you and your work massively, and I wanted to remind you of that ❤

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

Sci-fi authors are fine and all, but let's hope these videos inspire a few engineers too. =)

[@KonsulGando]

The Part about the orbital speed and launching Starships really got me, did not think about that before, great video as always. Thanks to the SFIA Team.

[@atlanciawethmar2257]

KonsulGando I also never thought about it, got me too.

[@lonjohnson5161]

The orbital speed doesn't actually matter that much. Getting out of a gravity well is all about delta-V. The higher speed is offset by the fact that you are in deep on the Sun's gravity well. On the other hand, he is quite correct that proximity to the Sun makes getting that delta-V from a solar powered laser much easier.

[@stefanr8232]

If you launch from Earth and flyby Mercury you will be orbiting the Sun much faster than Mercury is orbiting the Sun. You can fire your engines or use the lasers and have that much extra velocity.

[@tintun8918]

No SFIA episode goes without showing a cup of coffee

[@kokofan50]

Considering coffee is responsible for most modern accomplishments, it’s not really surprising.

[@dalemartin815]

☕🍿

[@joanmasdeu4600]

Step 1: snacks Step 2: drinks Step 3: enjoy Isaac Arthur's video (who deserves 1000000 subs)

[@joesayre7267]

Sub number is low by a least a couple orders of magnitude

[@kokofan50]

One 1/4 of the way there already.

[@dalemartin815]

Subs? Foot long or 6 inchers.

[@Joee1530]

Dale Martin here is your Reddit gold

[@SuperGothDog]

One of my very favorite episodes. Thank you for the special consideration of the ideas that you and many of us feel some comfort with when thinking of Mercury, as well as the concepts you only revisit in the reexamination of your original ideas. I look at the resources Mercury holds with much more colour with the timescale included.

[@MelissaKarlee]

Temperatures aside for a moment, I see a lot of similarities between the Moon and Mercury in the context of space stations, exploration, etc. From what I understand, the fact neither of these bodies having an atmosphere helps out immensely in terms of landing on them. I mean, that's what makes sense to me, you don't have to fight an atmosphere in or out. As for future prospects, the planet has a lot of potential as it is little more than a big ball of metal and 1 of only two planets who's electromagnetic sphere is generated by churning metals. Other than a lot of iron, there's other metals mixed in there as well, not to mention some silicates undoubtedly, and finally some research indicates that Murcery's magnetosphere may have been as strong as Earth's at some point in its history. It'll be a great body to use to build any Dyson Swarm.

[@gregbrockway4452]

Thank you Isaac for another superb video! Didn't think that it was possible but they seem to get better with each episode. Once again kudos to you and your team!

[@jjpemorin4365]

Just out of the Bobiverse trilogy (loved it!) and about a quarter of the way into The Singularity Trap (all in one week). Not only does Isaac makes awesome content, his books recommendations are great! Thanks! Now onto the subject at hand. I am glad Isaac spoke about thermocouples/stirling engines in this episode. I have always seen them as a possibility and I was always disappointed they never got mentioned.

[@isak_elof6987]

Exellent quality in the animations in this episode. Well done!!!

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

I guess I'm weird (and a jerk for saying so) but TBH I find the graphics to be mostly distracting and irrelevant.

[@DanteS-119]

It was VERY helpful for visualizing the mushroom habitats, @Twirlip. The other animations and illustrations were used nicely.

[@guillaumejardiniermoscosod7223]

I love your videos about colonization!

[@TheExoplanetsChannel]

Nice! My weekly dose of Isaac Arthur, im addicted!

[@charadremur333]

We all are

[@Nethan2000]

Okay, you sold me on the base on wheels. After playing Deserts of Kharak I'm a sucker for these things.

[@1784st]

Outward Bound: Colonizing Ceres!

[@robinchesterfield42]

Ceres might have a lot of water in it, so that right there would give your colony a boost up...

[@1784st]

Not to mention it's place in the belt. Ceres is like the central station in the belt for asteroid mining, there you have the storage and the rest stop while you at the same time build a whole new planet and making it bigger and bigger by dragging in objects from the belt.

[@tubularap]

Marcus Yrvild -- Creating a new big object in the Asteroid Belt ... that is an intriguing idea. Make it the size you want, in the preferred composition, and give it the position and spin you want.

[@christopherbaby3842]

This might be my favorite Isaac Arthur video yet. I always love the Outward Bound series but this one was a step above even that.

[@thomassidebottom7923]

I write science fiction stories as a hobby. I have been wanting to do a series on the planets of our solar system for quite some time. Thanks to the Outward Bound series and other series on your channel, I have been able to begin that project. The stories aren't long, nor are they that great, but watching your videos has allowed me to provide a through line: Aliens long ago arrived and built structures on each of our solar system's planets utilizing the advanced techniques you cover. Humanity, as they expand out to the other planets in the mid-to-distant future, begin to discover and utilize these ancient monolithic structures. I've already done stories for Venus, Neptune, and Jupiter. Mercury was next on the list. Watching this has given me ideas for how humanity lives on Mercury and what their initial (pre-Alien tech) purpose would have been (went with the factory route: Mercury builds ships and is the staging ground for Dyson satellites). Thank you for all the work you do. Keep it up! I love learning about this stuff, and I'm so happy I discovered your material.

[@NlNJASPARX]

Big fan of your content thanks again!.

[@johnwang9914]

It would be better to chase the Sun rather than run away from the Sun. The Sun heats the surface which retains it's latent heat therefore a mobile mining platform which follows sunset would be heated by the stored heat in the surface.

[@calebwolf8745]

Plus in case of failure, you'd have a much longer time to do repairs before hitting the bright side and cooking

[@NoNameAtAll2]

Depends on what is worse To fry to death or to become ice cube to death

[@ivanlovric5805]

Man this is discovery channel worth work. The editing , the explanation, I actually learned something today

[@sjeses]

Isaac, my sincere thanks to you and your team for putting all that effort in the videos you make. I absolutely love listening to you before I go to sleep. It makes me hopeful for the future, and that is a priceless resource for humanity as a whole. Not just the ones alive today, but all the generations to come.

[@TitanicDwarf]

When you mentioned temperature differential I immediately thought of Stirling engines. Sure enough a minute or so later they came up. One of the things I love about this channel is it gets me thinking in a problem solving way. Early in the video when you were talking about the day-night cycle I was thinking why not change it. Something I'd never even consider an option until this channel. I had a big smile when you discussed doing just that near the end. Thank you Isaac and team, keep thinking about the extraordinary but possible :)

[@jayteegamble]

A planet-sized Stirling engine! I imagine they could also be used as giant radiators (bring heat to the cold side, etc)

[@jadeevetz9426]

Time to fire up KSP, install the mining mod and take a giant mining rover and some mushroom habitats to Moho...

[@leemurray5125]

Arthur, after watching every single one of your videos I have had so many things I wanted to say on the journey but I will keep it short and simple. Thank you. Thank you for the education, the positivity about humanities future, your jokes and respect for your viewers. You deserve every success sir.

[@mjk9388]

Love the outward bound series Isaac and I'm looking forward to the whole line up of shows coming over the next month! Great job to you and your team as always. I love the custom animations you guys are putting together for these episodes. This channel continues to remain my favorite channel on KZbin.

[@robinchesterfield42]

Okay, if you haven't read "2312" and are interested in the subject of this video, you TOTALLY need to. I had to stop the video at the "walk around the planet ahead of the sun" part just to say this, because EXACTLY THAT HAPPENS IN THE BOOK. The Sunwalkers! _And_ the city on rails that always travels just ahead of it! That's in _the first chapter_. EDIT: Also the city is called "Terminator". XD It seems not much sci-fi pays proper attention to Mercury, so I figured I'd let people know about a book that really does. Also we have hollowing out asteroids and spinning them to make internal gravity and miniature terraformed worlds (of all kinds), floating colonies in clouds and even a base on _Io_, which has to be doubly shielded against the volcanoes and then its OWN Farraday cage to block out the radiation. Then there's what they're doing on Venus, which is not what I ever would've expected, and what happened to Earth, and...

[@hyrumhanson3390]

Robin Chesterfield who's the author?

[@andjoa1975]

The author is Kim Stanley Robinson. He is the author of Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars

[@magnetospin]

Yea, I am rather disappointed there's no mention of 2312 in this video.

[@nicholasryanscroggs8761]

Yes. I never finished that book, but I really enjoyed the parts about Mercury at the beginning. Also the asteroid terrarium parts were also pretty neat too.

[@hommuside]

KSR should have definitely been credited in this episode. Lots of ideas here from 2312.

[@atlanciawethmar2257]

Congrats on the 260k subs Isaac.

[@binozia-old-2031]

I just love the outward bound series so much

[@Gandalf-The-Green]

When I come home from work on Thursdays here on the other side of the pond, SFIA is a sure go-to for me. My mobile device has already informed me around early afternoon that your new video is out, since your channel is one of the few I have notifications turned on for. Today I realized I especially like the Outward Bound and Upward Bound series, they are quite inspiring. I always feel like I am feeding my brain on your channel and get a substantial creative input. Also, congrats to the very good music this time! It seems more lively, it fits this series.

[@AndDiracisHisProphet]

There is also Charles Stross' Book " Saturn’s Children" with a few chapters taking place on a mobile base on tracks around mercury.

[@MyKharli]

I think there's another by s baxter ? , along with the city on tracks there is a cult of sun walkers staying just ahead of sunrise . cant remember the title..but there is quantum computing intrigue added in

[@AndDiracisHisProphet]

maybe. but i can't remeber and i read almost all of baxter's novels. perhaps one of his short stories?

[@MyKharli]

its a kim Stanley robinson book now I remember more ..it had various asteroid environments as well . cant say more or maybe spoiler alert first . ty for reply

[@chingoputoh7969]

also 2312. The terminator-chasing mobile city trope is a bit commonplace actually

[@mikelfunderburk5912]

A two parter with JMG?! Whoo Hoo! More colabs.

[@handles_are_fucking_stupid]

I like when you talk about the regular planets and basic concepts because you point out things many people look over or don't talk about.

[@Nukefandango]

So glad outward bound is back!!

[@IntrepidDawn]

Just brainstorming but I suppose it could work if you used Lando's city on an imperial walker idea from the Star Wars Thrawn Trilogy. Now time to watch!

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Yeah we discussed that option, I opted to use a Dune Sand Crawler analogy over the Lando's to avoid igniting any Star Ward canon arguments :)

[@IntrepidDawn]

It stands out to me because it's one of the first instances in Star Wars of actual engineering skill applied to a problem rather than just 'build it bigger and stronger' which tends to be the sci-fi way when you want to show progress.

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Yeah, Star Wars isn't really noted for its focus on scientific accuracy and plausible engineering, but I appreciated Zahn trying to get some realism in that trilogy.

[@miles2378]

Isaac Arthur star wars rebels used that in a episode with tge clones Rex, Gregor, and Wolf living on a converted clone wars era walker.

[@andrewstrongman305]

Something like the moving cities in Mortal Engines might work.

[@Dumbassgen3uis]

Could you do more outward bound videos on colonizing various different solar systems?

[@stefanr8232]

Trappist1?

[@bradstevens8030]

I found you last weekend while finding different space channels, and i can say that this is one of my new favorite channels on youtube! Great video as always👌

[@stevenpilling5318]

I now recall that Arthur C. Clarke dealt with Mercury as a thriving industrial world in "Rendezvous With Rama".

[@fredkingmusic4137]

i love your channel, no matter what im doing ill stop it to watch your newest videos

[@Zebleblic]

I am subscribed to a lot of KZbin channels, but I think you go so far above everyone. Your videos could be a TV series pretty easily. Have you tried to get Netflix to make your videos into a series?

[@sophiewilliams7582]

I'm pleased that the SFIA Design Room has refreshments.

[@NoBody-mh8yq]

Words cannot express how much I love this channel. Thank you Isaac!

[@AnderEzkurra]

Hello, Isaac, Love the channel; keep it up! I was surprised to see that a certain model for a mercurial colony was not mentioned, since I was very interested in your assessment of its viability: I am referring to the one in Kim Stanley Robinson's "2312" novel. Perhaps you're unfamiliar with it, but it's basically a (permanently) mobile city on equatorial tracks made of metal, which expand as they heat up, creating a slope that constantly accelerates the colony (some energy is produced by braking), keeping it near the "terminator line" (i.e. sunrise area). Would love to hear your thoughts on it, as it is the only colony in mercury I know of in SciFi (I agree with you in the dearth of literature surrounding the subject). Best wishes and, once gain, congratulations on the excellent content.

[@rogerjrusa]

Since I was little, I’ve wondered what would happen to the planets if a catastrophe knocked, say, Venus off its orbit, or if a planet was somehow “disappeared” due to some unknown factor, and lately even-as it’s popular here- if we looted Mercury of its stuff. Wouldn’t the gravity of the solar system suffer a disaster, turning some planets rogue, causing collisions, etc?

[@geoffreyweights7697]

Roger G2 that is a hell of a question I've been listening to this channel for over a year and never thought of that.

[@paulshields1883]

if we leave it alone, mercury's orbit isn't guaranteed to be stable in the long term, and it just might be ejected anyway

[@rollieroulston]

99.8% of our solar systems mass is in the sun, and most of the remainder is in Jupiter, so unless Venus managed to fly close to us on its way out, I expect any effect would be rather minimal. Some asteroids and comets might be perturbed, some planetary orbits changed slightly, but I don't see it being a catastrophe

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

Depends which planet. Jupiter would matter a lot. Mercury almost not one bit. Mars would "punch above its weight" in one respect (bombarding earth to rubble) because of its relationship with the asteroids.

[@cluckeryduckery261]

Yes! I've been waiting for this one since you announced the June schedule.

[@AlaskanBallistics]

Yes!!! More Issac Arthur!

[@MilanSvitek]

YASS! Been waiting for this for the past 2h!! Need my weekly fix...

[@myrobotfish]

This would be the perfect setting and plot for an sci-fi action movie. Now if only the title Sun-Chaser wasn't already taken.

[@milky_wayan]

speaking of which, it would be a better idea to chase the sun rather than constantly move away from it. If your mobile factory breaks down, it's better to have the 88 day night as a buffer rather than getting cooked as soon as you get left behind.

[@MrRolnicek]

Except you are driving over schorching hot surface. Not ideal. And as explained in the video, a few stilts and a big mirror will let you wait out the day just fine.

[@kyokyoniizukyo7171]

PROgrammer8 Solar Dancer by way of limelight- Joan Of Arc Alter...

[@patrickw2836]

But you're not chasing the sun, you're chasing the darkness.

[@myrobotfish]

You could chase the sun or darkness. There are pros and cons to either route in the event of a loss of mobility, but chasing the darkness would probably be safer. The bright side to getting stuck on the bright side (see what I did there), is you have an abundant supply of solar energy of which you can use to power AC along with external shading (solar panels could serve a dual purpose of providing shade and power). If you get stuck on the dark side you would have to rely on an internal generator/RTG or what not, to heat the vehicle/factory for 88 days.

[@cliffordernest7825]

Isaac, I just discovered your channel a little bit ago, from watching Fraser’s channel. I have been binge watching and just wanted to say I really enjoy the content. My curiosity about all these topics is piqued on so many levels. I just wanted to say thanks. Please don’t stop doing what you do.

[@realzachfluke1]

This was my favorite installment in the series so far, though I admittedly have such a strong fascination with Ceres, so it might give this one a run for its money!! Great job on this one, Isaac. You make outstanding videos and I’ll be supporting you all the way for the future.

[@zekefartin409]

Once again excited to see what my decedents might get to experience.

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

Zeke Fartin Eat right and exercise and you might see a lot of it yourself.

[@cliffordernest7825]

Zeke... your last name is EPIC!

[@MrKevoshi]

I have started to enjoy Arthursday more and more now that I’ve bungee through all of your content. Would you be willing to do an episode that ranks sci-fi universes from the possible for humanity to achieve to outright laughable?

[@alon_2303]

Truly inspirational. Not lying - you became my #1 source of admiration towards science, tech, space exploration, our possible future out there... Will never regret subscribing to this channel!

[@bagelSC07]

My favorite series! Thank you for all your hard work!

[@EverlastingSky]

If I reach Mercury before everyone else, Can I claim to be the Queen of Mercury?

[@svenservette4197]

EverlastingSky Yes.

[@EverlastingSky]

Guess I will just play Kerbal Space Program and find the cheapest way to reach it there. If only I could find 3 dragon eggs there...

[@ericjohnson7234]

Sure who'll stop you

[@EverlastingSky]

The millenials?

[@classarank7youtubeherokeyb63]

You can, but I have already declared myself the sovereign of all space within 50 million miles of the sun. Doing so would, therefore, be an invasion and an act of war. You do not want to get into a flame war with me, as I have forged my insults in the crucible of /pol.

[@thomdilling5855]

Not sure if its because I've been subbed for a while now, your recent speech therapy, or both but I honestly cannot hear the slightest speech impediment. Just thought I would mention this. Great work as always sir!

[@Theodin74]

I've noticed this same thing in the beginning videos, I could really hear it but was still able to understand what he was say, as time goes on, It seems to be slowly going away, That's not easy to do as you need to relearn how to pronounce parts of words, and when you get one sounds right, sometimes you mess up one you didn't have problems with, I know from experience, I was very young when I had an accident and split my tongue in half, it took me about 10 years to clear up my speach, I give him lots of credit in improving his speech over the years, its not easy but he's doing a great job improving

[@Hengebobs]

Yay! Always look forward to watching your vids with my coffee on Thursday!

[@jordhuga271]

Thanks for all the videos Isaac. I love the real information on KZbin. Very thorough.

[@jonathanryan9946]

Minutes in and 53 views and 51 likes, seems totally legit based on the viewers of this channel. I mean Isaac previously figured out how to colonize the sun, so of course we'll auto like his videos

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

:) The 'on page' views often lag, YT runs some verification thing to make sure they're real initially, those 53 aren't even real views, its me and the production crew and such popping in to watch it while it was unlisted to check for typos, set the text, and such.

[@robinchesterfield42]

...I haven't seen that one yet. Terraforming the SUN?! TO THE ARCHIVES!

[@jonathanryan9946]

Isaac Arthur there was already 26 comments when I posted that too btw a few minutes after it opened to everyone. I know things are delayed on KZbin view and like count wise, I just found it very humorous in a good way that by chance the views and likes where nearly equal. Most other times I arrive that early the view count is way higher than the like count, you on the otherhand was nearly 1 for 1 in those first minutes. Thanks for the behind the scenes details though. I find it nearly as fascinating as the content of your great videos.

[@Ryukachoo]

Just moved to SF from Boston, and it's weird seeing arthursday begin at 8am instead of 11

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

:) Yeah I always think of us a late morning show, in time for lunch, since I'm in Ohio, but I get a lot of folks on the west coast glad it's out in time for the morning commute or off in Europe saying in time for dinner. I hope you're enjoying SF's weather, weirdly, in spite being born just a little north of there in Sonoma, I've naught been to Cali since I was a toddler, barely remember the place.

[@AndDiracisHisProphet]

It's clearly an early evening show^^

[@cliffordernest7825]

I am from boston. What part of Boston are you from? What do you think of California? I was thinking of going out there.

[@unexpected2475]

Yes! I've been waiting for this for weeks now!

[@KostitosConQueso]

Daaaaaaaamn! The graphics in this series keep getting better and better!

[@masterchief7301]

Notification squad in here

[@atlanciawethmar2257]

Master Chief Checking in as well :-)

[@NoMoreForeignWars]

Can we colonize... uranus?

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

We will probably do Neptune and leave it at that, it's fairly parallel to Uranus anyway and I don't think I could handle all the jokes such a video would result in, I'd probably be cracking up trying to read the script too

[@DanteS-119]

Please make it real!!! Do it instead of Neptune!!! One day, someone might try to colonise Uranus and refer to your video in that context... could you pass that up? LOL

[@timothyking2296]

This guy need to get to Hollywood. With a good script and him on the cgi and tech. Could make one hell of a movie. A whole series. Probably better than Star wars.

[@diouranke]

loving your space colonization series ❤️

[@empireempire3545]

I would be worried that people from Mercury be a bit... mercurial

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Nanotech sounds interesting coming from SFIA. Nanotechnology sounds like a film trope to me. I understand the basics of photoresist and P/N junctions when it comes to silicone technology. I mean it's not too hard to understand: apply fancy rust to a silicone wafer, coat that in fancy plastic, add a Prince backing track w/purple mood lighting, and let it rain (acid) to etch an image. It's pretty easy to understand, in the end your smallest resolution possible is governed by the wave length of the exposure light. Nothing in that setup is really designed structurally as far as I understand it and it's a deposition technology. Plus it's still just applied to wafers the size of a dish plate. How does "nanotechnology" really scale even to Starship Enterprise levels? People have been hyping graphine for several years now. It doesn't appear to be the new cellophane/backlite revolution. Is "Nanotechnology" overhyped special use materials like Aerogel or is there a practical reason to believe it can be mass produced as general industrial materials?

[@tonyallen2279]

Silicone? silicon.

[@UpcycleElectronics]

Tony Allen Lol... I'm an idiot...here for all your tiny nano caulking tech banter

[@Ag3nt0fCha0s]

I will only believe a technology is possible after it has been successfullyy prototyped. He may talk about ion drives, but until I hear of a working prototype I aint buying it. Same for nanotech. Don't forget that the military industrial complex has been hyping railguns as being just around the corner since just before WW1.

[@sethpaulson2407]

Ion drives are not theoretical they are working now. www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/fs21grc.html

[@Ag3nt0fCha0s]

@@sethpaulson2407 Thanks! I will cross them off the hypothetical list.

[@primevalperson194]

Spectacular as always!

[@ciabattalebeau8048]

Loved the video! I can't wait to get home on Thursdays for your new episodes! Really nice to see some attention given to Mercury, now I am gonna run my Genesys game on Mercury this weekend (your videos have been really influencing where my weekend table top game goes, lol).

[@tommeakin1732]

I love Stirling engines. We need more Stirling engines ; - ;

[@calvingreene90]

The problem is they don't throttle quickly.

[@HaraldSangvik]

Not a problem for base load power generation!

[@calvingreene90]

I agree, there are a lot of uses they are good for but it does limit the market for them and they are not enough more efficient to overcome the limited market unless enthusiasts get industrial Sterling cycle engines into production.

[@grambo4436]

Pepe!!

[@svenservette4197]

HUZZAH!

[@ahabkapitany]

New video from Isaac! YAY!

[@jkj420]

Amazing content again! I loved this episode. So many exciting possibilities. Thank you!

[@HuplesCat]

Great video as ever. I wonder what the thumbs down people get from their efforts? Seems a lonely and pointless thing to me. Get a life people :-)

[@isaacarthurSFIA]

Well I can't complain, we're at 460-3 like:dislike at the moment, and our worst tend to be about 40:1. I like to think some are accidents where they just hit the wrong button, or were having a rotten day and are just in a bad mood, especially on vids like this where there's really nothing controversial. Still, all feedback is valid, at least the non-profane kind :) and I've disliked a video a few times, though I try never to do that for someone clearly new, lest I discourage them from trying again and improving.

[@HuplesCat]

True. Thanks for the reply. I never thumbs down. If so mad I'll unsub :-)

[@EliLowkr]

If watching on my phone with it turned sideways, I'll tap the center of the screen to pause. At the same moment, the screen reorients itself... and I inadvertently tap thumbs down. I usually catch myself and retap to undo my mistake, but I'm sure I've failed to notice in the past. On a side note: If someone finds this episode this soon, they surely have to be a subscriber. So, at least the sub numbers are up even if they are a negative person.

[@michajurczuk6265]

well, i never disliked a video consciously and still from time to time i rewatch a video i liked and see i gave it a thumbs down. Guess its something that happens when browsing youtube on a phone while drunk :P

[@wwsuwannee7993]

I never thumbs down a video. I might leave and alternate and sometimes snarky comment, but never the less those folks took the effort ...so......

[@noddwyd]

Sounds like living on Mercury is never going to be peaceful. Always on the move. ;)

[@robinchesterfield42]

Which...kind of fits the planet named after a god known for speed...

[@user-so3zc6zu5p]

Unless you live in a crater or uderground

[@menachemdavid3535]

Isaac Asimov’s ‘I Robot’ had one story that took place on Mercury as I recall. When you started talking about the length of a Mercury day and being able to stay mobile and live on Mercury my brain went into recall. A lot of the same information was presented in this video. The mining colony on Mercury in ‘I Robot’ was staffed with robots and only a few humans as overseers. Good job on getting the science right.

[@r-gart]

This is one of your best videos (if not the best), congratulations to you and your crew. * Pros: The music set the tone amazingly while the animations gave a perfect visualization of the idea you were trying to portrait. The content was superb, this is what I liked the most, it was not even close to being repetitive in a half an hour video! I didn't even know the many possibilities for Mercury as you told us in this video. It feels like there's even more content about it to analyze right now, which leads us to the bad part of this video, below. * Cons: it was too short! :)

[@berniesanders4966]

Why did Venus have to get air conditioning? Because Mercury moved in I'm sorry for subjecting you to this horrible joke

[@merrittanimation7721]

I don't get it. Is this a thermometer joke?

[@SC-zq6cu]

Yup. It is. It is unfortunately a thermometer joke. *Sigh* "Mercury" moved in? Srsly?😦

[@Nobody-11B]

The only Channel I'm ever on time for!!

[@frankwagner2094]

Awesome as always! Thank you very much Sir!

[@taotechnique]

Oh wow, i am looking forward to seeing your interview!!!!!

[@madscientistshusta]

You outward bound intros get me so hyped! Im always like "yea heck ya lets go pioneer some stuff heck yesss!" Lol

[@atlanciawethmar2257]

Happy Arthursday everyone. Thanks Isaac :-)

[@RowdyElectron]

This is the best part of Thursday. Thank you Isaac!

[@synceredagenius6084]

Yes! Another episode!

[@selfishbeats]

Been waiting for this one for so long.

[@MU-oi1su]

Great video! 👍

[@ns2358]

Outstanding! As usual!

[@BaddAtom]

this was an immensely interesting video. Mercury... never would have thought. Thank you Isaac and team!!