Maua

"Stray too far away from camp in one direction and you'll burn alive. Stray too far the other way and you'll burn alive while freezing to death. Confusing, I know." -Miner on Maua

Type

Planet

Owning Organization

Perillel Republic

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FIRST PLANET FROM PERILLIS

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Size and Orbit

The smallest planet in its system, Maua has a mean diameter around 4400 meters. Maua is so small its orbit, which averages around 91 days, is affected significantly by Topei's position as Derlop and Maua pass. Its orbit is also eliptical and off-center, making the planet even more exotic. Maua is tidally locked and also has a very strange axis of rotation; the axis is nearly perpendicular to the tangent of its orbit and parellel with direct line of sight of Perillis. This strange axis is exaggerated by both Derlop and The Wanderer.

Composition

Maua has a high density, around 5.2g/cm³, much of which is predicted to be the result of a particularly large iron core. The planet is also expected to have a molten outer core that creates its erratic electromagnetic field; no scientific research has been conducted to confirm this thesis. The planet is likely around 60% metallic and 40% silicate material, although research currently underway at the Impact Mining Rig may indicate a large amount of the metallic material is the result of asteroid impacts.

Surface Features

The temperature of Maua is drastically different between the light side, where it can reach well over 600 K, to the dark side, which can drop as low as 100 K. Maua's surface can appear rippled in regions and smooth in others, but has little in way of mountains. There are also thousands, if not tens of thousands of craters, whose fresh appearances indicate a significant lack of seismic activity. Maua is very likely "dead", geologically speaking.

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Foxholes

Maua's dotted surface has become notorious for hiding criminal ships from the Perillel Republic Forces.

Natural Resources

Other than the large amount of iron concentrated in many of the craters, and the huge deposit at Maua's Eye which is already being mined, Maua has very little to offer in valuable resources. There are small deposits of rare metals, such as gold, within other craters across Maua. Many of them, however, lie within the light side of the planet, where it has proven to be nearly impossible to establish any sort of long term mining operation.

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Geographic Locations

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Maua's Eye

The largest crater on Maua is a massive hole that rests mostly within the dark side of the planet, known as Maua's Eye or the Impact. The crater is nearly one kilometer across and over 500 meters deep. The asteroid that created the hole was estimated to be well over two kilometers in diameter and may have played a significant role in moving Maua into its eliptical orbit. The crater is now home to the Impact Mining Rig which is harvesting the iron that remains from the asteroid.

The Graveyard

Because Maua is so desolate, it is a common place to "retire" old ships. The main location for these retirements is on the light side of the planet in a magma field known as the Graveyard. The ship is usually crashed into the surface during the Maua's apoapsis, when the surface cools below the melting point of most the ship's components. As the planet continues its orbit and approaches Perillis, the temperature rises and the ship melts, mixing in the molten pools with all the other abandoned ships.