Eden

Eden is the sole planet of the Nova Scupio binary system.

## In-Game Description

*“Eden is known to be just perfect for life. It has the right orbit, radius, mass and atmosphere to make it a superhabitable world. Many kerbal colonists and scientists can't wait to make it to Eden, and live on this precious red jewel.”*

## Discovery

Eden was found via direct imaging of Nova Scupio B. Kerbal scientists were shocked to find a planet that’s considered this “perfect” for life. The Kerbal scientists noted that it was square center in the middle of the Nova Scupio system’s habitable zone and named it Eden after planetary scans discovered liquid water on the planet’s surface.

## Physical Characteristics

Eden is observed to have both bodies of water and continents on its surface. Uneven terrain is present across the planet, suggesting seismic activity and/or erosion from water. There is no evidence to suggest that the continents used to fit together, and plate tectonics on Eden likely happen in a very different way than they do on Kerbin. Eden has both ocean-like and landlocked bodies of water, and the landlocked bodies of water could contain a different composition to the ocean.

In Eden’s southern hemisphere, an impact crater is observed. This crater is filled with water, and due to this, it likely has a different composition, compared to the rest of the planet. Further exploration of the impact crater needs to be done.

In addition to the continents, islands, and oceans on Eden’s surface, there are also polar ice cap regions that make up around 25% of the planet’s surface. These polar regions have mountains, lending credence to the theory that seismic activity is present. These mountains appear in the nonpolar regions of Eden as well.

The planet is covered in fine, nutrient-rich dust that likely allows plant life to grow.

## Atmosphere and Climate

Eden’s atmosphere is the cleanest and most breathable atmosphere observed in the Kermes Galaxy. Observations of the atmosphere note that it has the perfect ratio of nitrogen to oxygen to co2. Kerbal scientists describe the atmosphere as “a breath of fresh air,” considering planets like Eios or Ilos exist with atmospheres that are just slightly too toxic for Kerbals to breathe.

In addition to the atmosphere, Eden is also known to have an active cloud system, with tenuous and intense storm systems occasionally being observed. This, in turn, also means that Eden has an active water cycle, likely with fresh dust.

## Possibilities of Life

Eden is home to two different species of macroscopic life. The two forms have very different morphologies, with one being similar to a mushroom, while the other looks more like a bulbous rattle. It isn’t known if these two organisms are genetically related, but the fact that juvenile forms with different morphologies have been observed, makes it unlikely to be related. Both of these forms are not exclusively terrestrial, with shallow or surface water-based macroscopic organisms being observed on Eden. It is not known whether the organisms observed on Eden are plant or animal species, but they will be assumed to be plants due to their immobility.

Due to Nova Scupio being a binary system, possible wavelength canceling effects would theoretically be present that would modify what light Eden would be receiving from each star, explaining why the planet’s flora was not darker in color. When the astronomy department was asked to study this, they quickly responded “not now” and the reason for the flora’s color has never been fully explored. Compared to other similar planets, Eden’s population density is off the charts.

The Large Mushroom Species is a macroscopic organism that grows all across the planet. The adult mushrooms generally grow between 40 and 60 meters tall, and appear to propagate in clusters. The juvenile mushrooms tend to grow around 15 meters tall when observed, but there is evidence to assume they start their growth even smaller, as spores that are observed on the underside of the adult mushrooms. Clustering suggests that there could be a parent mushroom that initiates growth of the cluster by deposition of spores nearby, which is consistent with the amount of mushrooms found in each cluster.

Coloration between the land and Mushrooms suggests that land-based nutrition is happening, and certain elements for life are accumulating in the organism. Regarding their growth, the mushrooms likely don’t go through any morphological changes as they grow, with growth being attributed to increase in cell volume. Further observation of these mushrooms would need to be completed. While it has not been proven, multicellular characteristics have been observed, including different anatomical structures such as the dome and stalk features. This observation leads some scientists to believe that cell number could also result in growth along with cell volume.

The most recent observations of Eden have shown that the Large Mushroom Species have a primary stalk and secondary stalks. If the theory is correct, the primary stalk likely uses nutrition from the ground and acts as a nutrient gathering organ. In addition, the secondary stalks are likely to act as redundancies and possibly tethers to keep the mushrooms from falling. Some secondary stalks observed above the surface have flared ends, which might be used for sensory applications, though nothing of that sort has been observed. These flared ends have only been observed above the surface, possibly in a growth phase, and it is currently unknown whether they retain the sensory feature when they go underground or even exist beneath the surface.

In addition to the Large Mushroom Species, the other primary plant species on the planet are the Green Rattles. The Large Mushroom Species and the Green Rattles are differentiated by morphology and coloration. This suggests that the rattle does not employ the same nutrients for energy purposes as the mushrooms. The rattles seem to have more robust root systems than the mushrooms, which are each over 10 meters long. They are also observed at a much lower frequency than the mushrooms (1:10),  which could suggest a different way of reproducing. Little to no morphological change was also observed during development, as with the mushrooms, suggesting that growth occurs through increases in cell volume and/or cell number changes if this species is multicellular.

The adult Green Rattle is around 80 meters tall, with the smallest observed juvenile being around 15 meters tall. The bulbous sections found on both juvenile and adult versions are likely a type of storage vacuole, meant for accumulating energy-rich molecules, such as starch or fat, during parts of the year that these resources would not be readily available.

Aside from the plant species, hundreds of millions of microorganic species were discovered as well, though the various species are unexplored.

## Biomes

* Polar Ice
* Water
* Lowlands
* Midlands
* Highlands
* Mountains
* Red Vegetation
* Impact Site