[brettmurray92]

I don't exactly know if I'm writing in the correct place, but here goes.

I'm working on a novel that is a cross between Dune, Firefly and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
It takes place on a desert planet isolated from the rest of civilization.


The background of this planet is that it was as an earth-like planet, where humans could colonize. In due course, the usage of terraforming technology would render it easily habitable. However, there was an accident when the colonisation convoy came into orbit; the main ship and her escort crashed. With over 3/4 of the colony ship destroyed, the settlers had no way to contact the outside world(s). They were isolated, alone; they had no choice but to start from scratch.


But things aren't as simple as putting a group of humans on a planet; I have a basis of parameters that I could really do as being clarified or assisted with (I have a lot of respect for the scientific community in general, and would hate to be called out on having an innaccurate basis for storytelling). So here are some parameters.

     Planet "Z", as it shall be named for now, is:
         -A desert planet, like Arrakis from Dune or Tatooine for Star Wars; there are sand dunes and rocky plateaus.
         -The dust/sand must be blue (a particular shade doesn't matter)
         -There is an ocean present, and some rivers the water should be semi-drinkable but should be classed as hard water   (abundance of minerals present).
         -Plant-life appears grey due to thick cuticle for water retention, but is able to grow from ground nutrients and photosynthesis.
         -Environment is generally hostile; I would like a condition whereby life expectancy is no more than 50 due to inhalation of dust particles.
         -For most other intents and purposes, the planet must be Earth-like, whereby is has only a slightly lower gravity, a shorter day and a longer year.
         - A select number of animals exist - a majority of life has gone extinct as this is a very ancient world with little or no seismic activity. (There are analogues to Birds, Fish, Lizards, Mice, Cattle, and Elephants, but only one or two species of each.)
         -There are two moons that rotate the planet, haven't decided what they're made out of yet, but they are smaller than our own moon.



So! From Wikipedia (which is always both a blessing and a curse) I have discerned a number of feasible materials. My problems here are the facts that I'm not sure how feasible these would be to sustain life.

     Copper - Copper Sulphate crystals are blue, it is possible they've been ground down over time to make the sand, and deposits of     copper could be mined by settlers. Downside is that it might be a little too poisonous.
     Lapiz Lazuli - its seems to be just a rock/dye without extraneous poisonous properties.
    Azurite - similarly, nothing good or bad about it.
    Ultramarine - Also a good candidate, has some interesting properties, but I don't know how feasible it would be for a planet made up of it to exist.
    Cobalt/Cobalt blue - High potential as well, though the potential for poison may be be too great a concern.


Suggestions and comments are more than welcome, I would rather not divulge too many plot points or secrets, but questions are still much appreciated.

[curiouscat]

Is the blue color a hard constraint? Why?

[fledarmus]

Azurite is a copper ore - it is getting it's color from copper.

Ultramarine and Lapis lazuli get their colors from S₃^-.

Cobalt is frequently found in copper minerals in similar structures.

So I don't see why you couldn't envision a high-sulfur, high copper/cobalt world that is low in some of the heavier metals like iron and gold. Perhaps it has a copper/nickel core. It would be less dense, so possibly lower gravity or larger size for the same gravity. Enough oxygen and water bound into the mineral structure that terraforming would make the place habitable, while heavy metal supplements might be required for health - especially iron, or the people would tend to be anemic. Additional copper in the diet might change skin color slightly, towards green or blue, but perhaps copper transport is enhanced among the population that survives, and they are able to function better in a high copper environment? Low heavy metal and high silicate content might change the technology base more towards ceramics, glasses and semiconductors than the historical iron age.

Just a few thoughts, maybe some of it is useful.