Valuna

Valuna is a fictional natural satellite that appears in science fiction literature, film, and tabletop role-playing games. In many portrayals, Valuna orbits a gas giant in a distant star system and is used as an archetype of an icy moon with an interior ocean. The name blends a stylized form of “val-” with the Latin term “luna” for moon, and it is adopted across diverse works without a single canonical history.

Physical characteristics of Valuna vary by author, but common elements include an icy crust fractured by ridges and canyons, a high albedo, and evidence of geologic or cryovolcanic activity. In some depictions, a subsurface ocean lies beneath the crust, potentially interacting with a rocky mantle through vents. Atmospheres range from near vacuum to very thin exospheres, depending on the story’s needs.

Orbit and environment are usually described as challenging for exploration: low gravity, extreme cold, and radiation from the parent planet or the system’s stars. These conditions make Valuna a frequent setting for remote sensing missions, ice-sample landings, or submersible expeditions designed to probe potential habitats or resources.

Cultural and narrative role: Valuna provides a flexible backdrop for world-building, allowing writers to explore astrobiology, cryogeology, and the ethics of resource extraction in icy environments. Because Valuna is not tied to a single canon, creators adapt its features—surface ice, subsurface oceans, and geothermal activity—to suit various narratives and gameplay scenarios.