P3_4 Elysium: Where'd the Atmosphere Go?

Abstract

This paper determines whether the Elysium space station, from the 2013 film Elysium[1], could maintain an atmosphere. We found that Elysium, with a radius of 20 km[2], would not hold onto its atmosphere unless high wind speeds (183 ms^-1, 324 ms^-1, and 443 ms^-1; for the atmospheric rotations tested) are to be endured by its inhabitants.