I have been thinking a bit on the possibility of human life surviving on Jupiter. The gravity at the top of the cloud layer is about 2.5g, which is tolerable by humans to a certain degree and a genetically engineered human could enjoy this. Balloons or dirigibles could cruise the clouds, easily and gliders could go from habitat to habitat. The atmosphere is mostly hydrogen, with some helium. The balloons would have to be “hot air” balloons, actually filled with hydrogen that has been warmed to make it less dense than the atmosphere. There are traces of Ammonia, Methane and other hydrocarbons along with sulfur compounds that cause the color of Jupiter. The ammonia and methane could be farmed or collected to provide fuel for the colony. Oxygen is available in small quantities as CO2 or water vapor.

Life could be dangerous. The dirigibles, being at the top of the atmosphere, would be vulnerable to meteorites and lightning. The gravity would be dangerous in that anything dropped would fall fast – 2 and a half times faster than on earth. A glider in a spin would have less time to recover control. The atmosphere would be cold and poisonous.

The atmospheric winds are potentially very strong, but from what data I could find, the prevailing winds are usually mild enough, and strong storms are the exception, although in some latitudes they are more common. There are bands of strong winds similar to the jet stream.

Interesting ideas might include interaction with the indigenous life forms. I envision the cloud dwelling Jovians as gas filled balloons like huge Jellyfish and Manta Ray like gliders.

I have tried to Google dirigibles on Jupiter, but can’t find anything. I am sure that this can’t be a new idea, but I haven’t read anything on it. An I can’t find any direct references in Google. The Russians proposed dropping balloons into Jupiter to measure the atmosphere.

I have started writing a few scenes, but I need a good conflict.