It has been suggested that Colonization of Ceres be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Asteroid 243 Ida with its moon, Dactyl.

The asteroids or, more properly, the minor planets, have long been suggested as possible sites for human colonization. The idea is popular in science fiction. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Colonization of the asteroids. ... NASA image of 243 Ida and Dactyl. ... NASA image of 243 Ida and Dactyl. ... NASA image of 243 Ida. ... 243 Ida (left) and Dacytl (right), as photographed by Galileo. ... 253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid. ... Minor planet is the official term for asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects. ... Asteroids have become a common theme in science fiction. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...

Asteroid mining, a proposed industrial process in which asteroids are mined for valuable materials, esp. platinum group metals from metallic objects, may be automated or require a crew to remain at any target asteroid. 433 Eros is a stony asteroid in a near-Earth orbit Raw resources and minerals could be mined from an asteroid in space using a variety of methods. ... The platinum group or platinum metals is the collective name sometimes used for six chemical elements within the periodic table. ...

Advantages

• large number of possible sites, with over 300,000 asteroids identified to date
• Isaac Asimov pointed out the advantage of building cities inside hollowed out asteroids since the interior area in cubic miles of all the asteroids put together is a great deal more than that of the surface area of Earth (viewed as a series of cubes one mile by one mile resting on the surface of Earth) and thus a large population could be accommodated in the asteroid belt.
• several different chemical composition classes, including iron and carbonaceous, providing a veriety of materials useable in builing and fueling spacecraft and space habitats. The Trojan asteroids, in Jupiter's orbit may be primarily extinct comets.
• some earth-crossing asteroids require less energy (delta-V) to reach from Earth than the Moon.
• material mined from asteroids could be a basis for a trade economy

Artists conception of a space habitat called the Stanford torus, by Don Davis Space colonization, also called space settlement and space humanization, is the hypothetical permanent autonomous (self-sufficient) human habitation of locations outside Earth. ... The Artemis Project designed a plan to colonize Europa. ... No solid plans or studies have been made regarding manned missions to Titan, or colonization of that world, at least not outside of science fiction. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The noted physicist Freeman Dyson identified comets, rather than planets, as the major potential habitat of life in space. ... Dr. Isaac Asimov (January 1, 1920 – April 6, 1992, IPA: , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов) was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... In astronautics, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) is the way to describe the use the resources of the planetary body which is explored (Moon, Mars,...) to provide propellant, energy or consumables to the science payload or to the crew which has been deployed there. ... The Space Shuttle Discovery as seen from the International Space Station. ... A pair of ONeill cylinders Interior of a Torus (doughnut-shaped) station A space habitat, also called space colony or orbital colony, is a space station intended as a permanent settlement rather than as a simple waystation or other specialized facility. ... Image of the Trojan asteroids in front of and behind Jupiter along its orbital path. ... Adjectives: Jovian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 20–200 kPa[4] (cloud layer) Composition: ~86% H2 ~13% Helium 0. ... Comet Hale-Bopp, showing a white dust tail and blue gas tail (February 1997) A comet is a small astronomical object similar to an asteroid but composed largely of ice. ... An Earth-Crossing Asteroid (ECA), is an asteroid that is capable of coming very near to the Earth at any point in the future. ... General In general physics delta-v is simply the change in velocity. ... Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... 433 Eros is a stony asteroid in a near-Earth orbit Raw resources and minerals could be mined from an asteroid in space using a variety of methods. ...

Disadvantages

• Low gravity - Humans would have to adapt, or stations with artificial gravity would be needed.
• Most asteroids are far from the Sun. The main asteroid belt is roughly 2 to 4 times further from the Sun than Earth. This means that the available solar energy (solar constant) is 4 to 16 times less.
• Many asteroids may merely be loose agglomerations of dust and rocks, which may be very difficult to use.

Artificial gravity is a simulation of gravity in outer space or free-fall. ... Solar irradiance spectrum at top of atmosphere. ...

Asteroids of special interest

• Ceres is the largest body in the main asteroid belt--it's now classified as a dwarf planet--and is believed to have large amounts of water ice. See Colonization of Ceres.
• (6178) 1986 DA is a potentially metallic near-Earth asteroid.
• (216) Kleopatra is a metallic main-belt asteroid.

Some C-type asteroids are likely carbonaceous chondrites, which are some tens of percent water by mass. Spectral type: G[8] Absolute magnitude: 3. ... Artists impression of Pluto (background) and Charon (foreground). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Colonization of the asteroids. ... (6178) 1986 DA is a 2. ... 216 Kleopatra is a Main belt asteroid that was discovered by Johann Palisa on April 10, 1880 in Pola. ... C-type asteroids are carbonaceous asteroids. ... Some carbonaceous chondrites. ...

Asteroid colonies in science fiction

See Asteroids in fiction.

Asteroids have become a common theme in science fiction. ...

References

• David Gump, Space Enterprise: Beyond NASA, Praeger Publishers, 1990, ISBN 0-275-93314-8.
• Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets
• The Technical and Economic Feasibility of Mining the Near-Earth Asteroids, M. J. Sonter.
• Mining Asteroids, IEEE Spectrum, August 2001.

See also: 1989 in literature, other events of 1990, 1991 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets by John S. Lewis is a book on Space industrialization. ...

See also

• Space colonization
• Solar System