Mining of Ceres: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
→Strategic location: Deleted unreferenced material and synthesis. |
Rcat |
||
| (27 intermediate revisions by 12 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
#REDIRECT [[asteroid mining#Potential targets]] |
|||
[[File:Ceres RC2 Bright Spot.jpg|150px|thumb|right|Ceres]] |
|||
The [[dwarf planet]] '''[[Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]]''' has been proposed<ref name="AM101">{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=John S. |date=2 Feb 2015 |title=Asteroid Mining 101 |url= |location= |publisher= |page= |isbn= |access-date=21 May 2015 }}</ref> as one possible target for [[asteroid mining]] in the inner [[Solar System]]. |
|||
{{Rcat shell| |
|||
== Physical conditions == |
|||
{{R from merge}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
{{Space colonization}} |
|||
[[Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]] is a [[dwarf planet]] in the [[asteroid belt]], constituting about one third of the mass of the whole asteroid belt and being the sixth-largest body in the inner [[Solar System]] by mass and volume. It has a round shape, and a surface [[gravitational acceleration]] about 2.8% that of [[Earth]]. It has ammonia-rich clay soils <ref>{{cite web|title=Ammonia-rich clays lead to rethink on origins of Ceres|url=http://blog.cosmosmagazine.com/blog/2015/12/10/amonia-rich-clays-lead-to-re-think-on-origins-of-ceres|website=Cosmos Magazine|accessdate=3 January 2016}}</ref>, a surface area approximately 1.9% of Earth's dry land slightly larger than the total land area of [[Argentina]]. Observations indicate that it contains large amounts of water ice,<ref name="ice">[http://space.com/scienceastronomy/050907_ceres_planet.html Bjorn Carey. Largest Asteroid Might Contain More Fresh Water than Earth]</ref><ref name="thomas">{{cite journal |first=P. C. |last=Thomas |title=Differentiation of the asteroid Ceres as revealed by its shape |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=437 |issue=7056 |pages=224–226 |year=2005 |doi=10.1038/nature03938 |pmid=16148926 |bibcode=2005Natur.437..224T|display-authors=etal}}</ref> about one-tenth of the total water in Earth's oceans. The [[Sunlight#Intensity in the Solar System|solar irradiance]] of 150 W/m<sup>2</sup> at [[apsis|aphelion]], one ninth that on Earth, is high enough for solar-power facilities.<ref name="AM101"/> |
|||
==Strategic location== |
|||
Being the largest body in the asteroid belt, Ceres could become the main base and transport hub for future [[asteroid mining]] infrastructure,<ref name=AM101/> allowing mineral resources to be transported to [[Mars]], the [[Moon]], and Earth. |
|||
Because of its small escape velocity combined with large amounts of water ice, it also could serve as a source of water, fuel, and oxygen for ships going through and beyond the asteroid belt.<ref name=AM101/> Transportation from Mars or the Moon to Ceres would be even more energy-efficient than transportation from Earth to the Moon.<ref name="m_econom">{{PDFlink|[http://www.4frontierscorp.com/dev/assets/Economic%20Viability%20of%20Mars%20Colonization.pdf Robert Zubrin. The Economic Viability of Mars Colonization]|146 KB}}</ref> |
|||
==Potential difficulties== |
|||
[[Image:Three proposed planets postNHprobe.jpg|thumb|To scale, from left to right, [[Pluto]], [[Charon (moon)|Charon]], Ceres, Earth]] |
|||
[[Image:4 Vesta 1 Ceres Moon at 20 km per px.png|thumb|[[4 Vesta]], Ceres, and the [[Moon]]]] |
|||
Because Ceres is not known to have a [[magnetic field]], it is not shielded from [[cosmic ray]]s or other forms of radiation. Additionally, Ceres does not have a significant [[atmosphere]]. The low levels of solar [[insolation]] relative to Mars may also affect [[colonization]]. Ceres is roughly twice as far from the Sun as Mars (2.56–2.97 AU vs. 1.38–1.67 AU), so solar collectors must have four times the surface area to produce the same power level as on Mars (inverse square law). On the other hand, Ceres rotates much more quickly than Mars (9 hr vs 24.6 hr), so the need for night-time energy storage is less.<ref name="NSSDC">{{cite journal |author=Williams, David R. |title=Asteroid Fact Sheet |year=2004 |url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/factsheet/asteroidfact.html |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5msUtb6sU |archivedate=18 January 2010 |deadurl=no }}</ref> |
|||
The [[delta-v budget]] requirement for reaching Ceres from Earth is somewhat higher than what is necessary to reach Mars, however as demonstrated by the [[Dawn (spacecraft)|''Dawn'' mission]], it is feasible to enter Ceres orbit using only [[ion propulsion]]. Finally, the [[surface gravity]] on Ceres is roughly 2.8% that on Earth (0.27 m/s<sup>2</sup> on Ceres vs. 9.807 m/s<sup>2</sup> on Earth), which leads to concerns about the negative [[Weightlessness#Human health effects|health effects of long-term weightlessness]]. |
|||
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; width:700px;" |
|||
! The surface of Ceres |
|||
|- |
|||
| style="font-size:88%" | [[File:PIA18923-Ceres-DwarfPlanet-CrateredSurface-20150219.jpg|700px]] |
|||
<center>Map of Ceres from the [[Dawn (spacecraft)|''Dawn'' spacecraft]].</center> |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
==See also== |
|||
* [[Ceres in fiction]] |
|||
==References== |
|||
{{reflist}} |
|||
{{Asteroids}} |
|||
{{Ceres}} |
|||
{{Use American English|date=January 2014}} |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miningf Ceres}} |
|||
[[Category:Asteroid mining]] |
|||
[[Category:Ceres (dwarf planet)]] |
|||
Latest revision as of 06:29, 27 September 2021
Redirect to:
This page is a redirect. The following categories are used to track and monitor this redirect:
|