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A New Paper Shows How To Change An Asteroid Into A Space Habitat – In Just 12 Years
Summary
Retired Technical Fellow at Rockwell Collins, David W. Jensen, recently released a 65-page paper that details an easy-to-understand, relatively inexpensive, and feasible plan to turn an asteroid into a rotating space habitat. The paper explains the process of asteroid selection, habitat style selection, and mission strategy. Atira, an S-type asteroid, was chosen due to its Goldilocks zone orbit and its own moon. The habitat style chosen was a torus, which would require spinning the asteroid up to a speed that could accurately mimic the gravity a person would feel on Earth. Self-replicating robots are the answer to building the habitat. Dr. Jensen estimates the cost and timeline of the program, and concludes that with the right technology, a billionaire space competition could occur to see who can build the world’s first artificial gravity space habitat.
Q&As
What is the basic idea behind transforming an asteroid into a space habitat?
The basic idea behind transforming an asteroid into a space habitat is to use it as a rotating space habitat.
What type of asteroid was chosen to be transformed into a space habitat?
The asteroid chosen to be transformed into a space habitat is Atira, an S-type asteroid.
What type of habitat does the paper suggest building?
The paper suggests building a torus as the ideal habitat type.
How much would it cost to turn an asteroid into a space habitat?
It would cost $4.1 billion to turn an asteroid into a space habitat.
How long would it take to turn an asteroid into a space habitat?
It would take 12 years to turn an asteroid into a space habitat.
AI Comments
👍 This article is an interesting look into the future of space exploration and the potential of asteroid habitats. It provides a great overview of the science and technology behind the concept with an easy to understand explanation.
👎 This article is overly ambitious in its claims of transforming an asteroid into a habitat in 12 years. It fails to take into account the realistic costs and timeline involved in such a large project.
AI Discussion
Me: It's about how a retired scientist has created a plan to turn an asteroid into a rotating space habitat in just 12 years!
Friend: Wow, that's incredible! What are the implications of that?
Me: Well, the implications of this are quite huge. It means that space exploration could become much more accessible and cost-effective. It would also open up a lot of opportunities for space tourism and new research initiatives. Plus, the fact that it would only take 12 years to complete is really impressive. It could lead to a whole new era of space exploration and colonization.
Action items
- Research and analyze the technical components needed to build a space habitat from an asteroid.
- Develop a detailed plan for turning an asteroid into a space habitat.
- Investigate the feasibility of using self-replicating robots to construct a space habitat from an asteroid.
Technical terms
- Asteroid
- A small, rocky body orbiting the Sun.
- Delta-V
- The change in velocity of a spacecraft or other object, usually measured in meters per second.
- Goldilocks Zone
- The region around a star where temperatures are just right for liquid water to exist on a planet's surface.
- Anhydrous Glass
- A type of glass that does not contain any water.
- Centripetal Force
- The force that acts on an object moving in a curved path and is directed inward toward the center of curvature of the path.
- Spider Robots
- A type of robot that has multiple legs and is designed to move over uneven terrain.
- Falcon Heavy
- A reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by SpaceX.
- Apollo Program
- A spaceflight program carried out by the United States from 1961 to 1972.