A multi-criteria habitability simulator built specifically for the Goldilocks Report. Three modes: Explore (perturb any planet by hand), Load preset (12 presets: Earth, Mars, Venus + the 8 student-choice exoplanets + Kepler-22 b worked-example), and Compare (Earth, Mars, and your chosen exoplanet side-by-side with framework verdicts). Export the Compare view as JSON. The export includes a pre-formatted "For your AI Documentation Template" section you can paste directly into your Report.
This is a model
The calculator uses simplified physics: greenhouse adjustment is a 5-band lookup (not radiative transfer), magnetic field uses mass + age only (not rotation), atmospheric retention is a Jeans-escape lookup. Click Show assumptions inside the calculator to see every formula, lookup table, and known limitation. Apply OPVL to the calculator as you would to any source.
Trouble loading? Open the simulator in a new tab →
Where this fits in the unit
- Block 4 (Scale of the Cosmos): first introduction. Load Earth / Mars / Venus, then change the host-star type to see the habitable zone shrink dramatically around M-dwarfs.
- Block 6 (Choose Your Exoplanet): load your candidate's preset. Notice how Atmosphere = Unknown propagates as UNCERTAIN through the framework; that's OPVL in action.
- Block 7 (Habitability Framework): switch to Compare mode (Earth + Mars + your exoplanet). The 6-row framework readout becomes the spine of your Goldilocks Report framework section.
- Block 8 (Drafting Day): click Copy as JSON or Download JSON in Compare mode. The export's "For your AI Documentation Template" section satisfies the K/U gate without extra documentation work.
Before you start
- Have your Goldilocks Report open: Steps 2 (framework) and 3 (compare across cases) are what the calculator's Compare mode supports.
- Skim the calculator's Show assumptions drawer before trusting any verdict. The AI Documentation requirement means you OPVL the calculator itself.
- Pair with the Planet Hunter: the calculator computes; the Planet Hunter helps you reason about what the numbers mean.
Teacher links
Bookmark these to deep-link students into a specific preset or compare loadout:
?preset=trappist1e: opens Explore with TRAPPIST-1 e loaded?preset=kepler22b: opens the Block 8 worked-example planet?compare=earth,mars,trappist1e: opens Compare mode with the default Goldilocks loadout?compare=earth,mars,k218b: Compare with K2-18 b as the chosen exoplanet