Io
From Cowboy Bebop: Space Cowboy
Io is a terraformed moon of Jupiter. It was terraformed soon after the Gate Incident in response to the ridiculously high demmand for new habitable planets in the wake of the catastrophe.
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Pre-Terraforming
Io was originally an extremely volcanic moon, whose violent geological activity was caused by friction from the Laplace-resonant orbits between Ganymede, Europa, and Io. Lava eruptions would commonly spew as high as 300km above the moon's surface, making it a daunting task to preform the terraforming.
Although Io turned out to initially be completely devoid of water due to the extreme heat of Jupiter during the time of the moon's formation, the moon did have a few advantages over other bodies when terraforming. Considering its relatively young geological status due to the constant eruptions before terraforming, it is a much smoother moon, and is also almost completely devoid of craters.
Terraforming
Due to the lack of naturally occuring water and the presence of extreme volcanic activity, Terraforming was not an easy task. To make the moon workable, first the moons had to be broken off from their laplace-resonant orbits. High powered thrusters were used on both Ganymede and Io, leaving Europa stationary.
To start the process of making Io liveable, the building blocks of water needed to be imported. Terraforming factories were installed on the now smooth and docile surfaces of the moon and they worked night and day to convert latent elements into usable resources. Water, however, remained a scarcity, due to the initial lack of hydrogen on the planet.
Climate and Biome
Post-terraforming, Io became very arrid and dry, with very little flora having the fortitude to take hold there. Eventually, the residents began to introduce plants and animal species from the arrid American Southwest. Cactii and sagebrush are very common in Io, as are creatures like armadillo, snakes, and rats.
Terraforming left Io with a few small lakes and oceans, but these hardly provide enough moisture for any agriculture to take hold.
Population and Industry
Roughly 75% of the population of Io is either African or Middle Eastern, the remaining 25% being of various other races. Being a somewhat undesierable climate, immigration is very low, and the total human inhabitants of the planet lie somewhere around two to three million.
Most of the population lives in small mining communities of 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. The moon is very rich in mineral resources, and although most of the violent volcanic activity has ceased, in places it still continues. Io does have a decent sized manufacturing industry, but most of it is automated so it gives little back to the community in terms of revenue.
Io is driven almost exclusively by solar power. Huge isolated fields of solar panels have been set up in remote parts of the moon and a decent power and telecommunications infrastructure has been laid, connecting most of the moon's villages.
Culture
Io is a mostly atheist colony, although the most practiced religion is Islam, at 25% of the population. Many of the original settlers came from the American Southwest, and with them, brought the nostalgiac culture of the "Old West." Many buildings are of cheap "wood" construction, although the materials are mostly imported from other planets, or synthetic. While most of the towns are low in population, a true "Old West" setup seems to be the most popular way to enforce law, utilizing a (usually overworked) Sherrif and Deputies, and contracting much of the work out to Bounty Hunters.
With so few opportunities and so little enforcement, crime is rampant in Io. Like so many other remote areas, it is a haven for people on the run. Many bounties reside there, and a wise hunter often looks there for his paycheck.
