Jupiter, the largest planet in theSolar System, has appeared in works of fiction across several centuries. The way the planet has been depicted has evolved as more has become known about its composition; it was initially portrayed as being entirely solid, later as having a high-pressure atmosphere with a solid surface underneath, and finally as beingentirely gaseous. It was a popularsetting during thepulp era of science fiction.Life on the planet has variously been depicted as identical to humans, larger versions of humans, and non-human. Non-human life on Jupiter has been portrayed as primitive in some works and more advanced than humans in others.
Themoons of Jupiter have also been featured in a large number of stories, especially the fourGalilean moons—Io,Europa,Ganymede, andCallisto. Common themes includeterraforming andcolonizing these worlds.
Jupiter was long believed, incorrectly, to be asolid planet onto which it would be possible to make a landing.[1][2] It has made appearances in fiction since at least the 1752 novelMicromégas byVoltaire, wherein analien fromSirius and another fromSaturn pass Jupiter's satellites and land on the planet itself.[2][3] In the 1800s, writers typically assumed that Jupiter was not only solid but also anEarth-like world and depicted it accordingly.[4][5][6] In the 1886 novelAleriel, or A Voyage to Other Worlds byW. S. Lach-Szyrma, the planet is covered in an ocean with a few islands and primitive aquatichumanoids living there.[4][7] Jupiter resembles prehistoric Earth with a rich fauna full of lifeforms such asdinosaurs andmastodons in the 1894 novelA Journey in Other Worlds byJohn Jacob Astor IV.[4][6][8][9] A fewutopian works of fiction of the early 1900s are set on Jupiter, including the anonymously published 1908 novelTo Jupiter Via Hell and the 1922 novelThe Perfect World byElla Scrymsour.[4][6][10][11]
Most writers portrayed the inhabitants of Jupiter as being human, includingMarie Corelli in the 1886 novelA Romance of Two Worlds andCornelius Shea in the 1905 novelMystic Island; Or, the Tale of a Hidden Treasure.[1] In the anonymously published 1873 novelA Narrative of the Travels and Adventures of Paul Aermont among the Planets, the human inhabitants of Jupiter haveheavier-than-air aircraft.[4][12] Some portrayed Jovians as giant humans, includingAlbert Waldo Howard in thec. 1895 novelThe Milltillionaire andWilliam Shuler Harris in the 1905 novelLife in a Thousand Worlds.[1][13] In thesatirical 1886 novelA Fortnight in Heaven byHarold Brydges, an Earthling who visits Jupiter finds a futuristic version of America and discovers that the planet is populated by giant counterparts of Earth persons.[4][14][15] Others took different approaches to portraying the natives, such asFred H. Brown in the 1893 short story "A Message from the Stars", where the planet is inhabited by the spirits of the dead, andHomer Eon Flint in the 1918 short story "The King of Conserve Island", where Jovians are winged.[1][16][17]
Jupiter made appearances in severalpulp science fiction stories, including the finalJohn Carter story byEdgar Rice Burroughs, the 1943 short story "Skeleton Men of Jupiter".[1][4][6] The 1932 short story "A Conquest of Two Worlds" byEdmond Hamilton depicts a human invasion of a peaceable civilization on Jupiter, which leads an Earthling to rebel against the humans and side with the Jovians.[4][6][18][19] In the 1933 short story "The Essence of Life" byFestus Pragnell, asocial scientist is visited by human-looking beings from Jupiter who reveal that they have a kind ofelixir of life that they are willing to share, but also that they are ruled by octopus-like beings who keep them as pets.[1][20][21] Jupiter'sGreat Red Spot is imagined as a landmass of shifting solidity which is mined for radioactive deposits in the 1936 short story "Red Storm on Jupiter" byFrank Belknap Long, and it leaves Jupiter entirely in the 1937 short story "Life Disinherited" byEando Binder.[4][22]
As the conditions of Jupiter became better understood in the 1930s and onward, several stories emerged where the planet was portrayed as having a solid surface underneath a high-pressure atmosphere.[4] Some writers proposed that native lifeforms would have adaptations to the expected highsurface gravity in the form of a low stature as in the 1939 short story "Heavy Planet" byMilton A. Rothman or a large number of legs to distribute their weight on as in the 1931 novelSpacehounds of IPC byE. E. Smith.[1] Similarly,James Blish posited inThe Seedling Stars (a 1957 collection of earlier short stories) that human survival on Jupiter would necessitatepantropy, i.e. modifying the humans to adapt them to the alien environment.[5][23][24] In the 1944 short story "Desertion" byClifford D. Simak (later included in the 1952fix-up novelCity), humans who have been thus transformed find Jupiter a preferable place to live and refuse to leave.[1][5][6] Other writers resolved the issue of the presumed-harsh conditions of Jupiter by only having robots go there; in the 1942 short story "Victory Unintentional" byIsaac Asimov such robots encounter hostile aliens who mistake them for living beings, and in the 1957 short story "Call Me Joe" byPoul Anderson, aremotely controlled artificial creature explores the Jovian surface.[1][6][23]
By the late 1950s, it was generally accepted that theatmosphere of Jupiter was for all practical purposes bottomless and the idea of a solid surface beneath it fell into disuse.[4] Some works portray alien lifeforms living in the atmosphere, including the 1971 short story "A Meeting with Medusa" byArthur C. Clarke.[1] In the 2002 novelManta's Gift byTimothy Zahn, humanity makes contact withintelligent life in the Jovian atmosphere, and in the 2000 novelWheelers byIan Stewart andJack Cohen, it is discovered that there are entirefloating cities there.[5][25][26] Descents into the atmosphere are commonplace, seen in such works as the 1960 short story "The Way to Amalthea" bySoviet science fiction authorsArkady and Boris Strugatsky, the 1972 novelAs on a Darkling Plain byBen Bova, and the 1977 novelIf the Stars are Gods byGregory Benford andGordon Eklund.[4][6] The Jovian atmosphere also becomes a location for racing in the 1996 short story "Primrose and Thorn" byBud Sparhawk.[4]
Jupiter is the destination of an expedition in the 1968 film2001: A Space Odyssey, whereasthe book version by Arthur C. Clarke from the same year instead usesSaturn.[5][6] The planet is transformed into astar in the 1982 sequel novel2010: Odyssey Two by Clarke and the 1984 film adaptation2010: The Year We Make Contact as well as the 1982 novelSayonara Jupiter bySakyo Komatsu and its 1984 film adaptationBye-Bye Jupiter, an idea that was later reused by other authors such asCharles L. Harness in the 1991 novelLunar Justice andJohn C. Wright in the 2002 novelThe Golden Age.[4][5][6] The 2015 filmJupiter Ascending is aspace opera set partially on the planet.[27][28]
Once it was understood that Jupiter itself is agaseous planet,its moons became more popularsettings for stories featuring human or alien life.[1] Occasionally, the entire satellite system has been the focus collectively, such as in the 1984 short story "Promises to Keep" byJack McDevitt.[4] The fourGalilean moons—Io,Europa,Ganymede, andCallisto—have all beencolonized in the 1956 novelThe Stars My Destination byAlfred Bester.[6]
Io has a tropical climate in the 1935 short story "The Mad Moon" byStanley G. Weinbaum.[1][6][29] The satellite ismined for resources in the 1981 filmOutland, ascience-fiction version of the 1952WesternHigh Noon.[1][5][30] In the 1998 short story "The Very Pulse of the Machine" byMichael Swanwick, Io is implied to besentient.[1][4][5] The 2019 filmIo depicts the satellite as humanity's refuge after Earth has become near-uninhabitable due topollution.[27][31]
Europa is depicted as having a breathable atmosphere and native lifeforms on the side of the planettidally locked towards Jupiter in the 1936 short story "Redemption Cairn" byStanley G. Weinbaum.[6] The 1992 novelCold as Ice byCharles Sheffield focuses on a conflict about whether or not Europa should beterraformed.[5][32] Since scientists started hypothesizing that Europa may havewater oceans that could harbour life under its surface of ice, several stories have explored the idea, including the 2008 novelThe Quiet War byPaul J. McAuley, the 2013 filmEuropa Report, and the 2016 novelEuropa's Lost Expedition: A Scientific Novel byMichael Carroll.[1][6][33]
Ganymede hasdomed cities in the 1901 novelA Honeymoon in Space byGeorge Griffith.[4] It is terraformed in the 1950 novelFarmer in the Sky byRobert A. Heinlein.[1][5] The 1950 short story "The Dancing Girl of Ganymede" byLeigh Brackett is another early work set on the satellite.[1][6] The colonization of Ganymede has been depicted in numerous works, including the 1964 novelThree Worlds to Conquer by Poul Anderson, the 1975 novelJupiter Project byGregory Benford, and the 1997 short story "The Flag in Gorbachev Crater" byCharles L. Harness.[1][4][6]
Callisto is colonized in the 1950 short story "U-Turn" byEric Frank Russell.[6] The 1970sCallisto series byLin Carter, starting with the 1972 novelJandar of Callisto, is aplanetary romance set on the satellite and anhomage to the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs.[1][6][34]
Amalthea is a derelict extraterrestrial spaceship in the 1953 short story "Jupiter Five" by Arthur C. Clarke.[1] The 1957 novelLucky Starr and the Moons of Jupiter by Isaac Asimov takes place on another minor moon of Jupiter, variously referred to asJupiter IX andAdrastea.[1][35]
Cold as Ice focuses on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter, and on the struggle between those who with it made suitable for human habitation and those who wish it to remain pristine.
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