5 ms·

Let’s colonize Mercury. It’s not actually hot at the poles - it’s shaded enough from the consistent low angle to the sun that there’s even water ice. And the pl

Let’s colonize Mercury. It’s not actually hot at the poles - it’s shaded enough from the consistent low angle to the sun that there’s even water ice. And the planet is full of useful metals (more than earth), and as much solar energy as you can handle. The article dismisses Mercury out of hand as “too hot” but I think it’s our best bet. https://www.universetoday.com/130109/how-do-we-colonize-mercury/ https://www.universetoday.com/130109/how-do-we-colonize-merc...

RangerScience 7y ago
I think it was in Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" universe that they colonize Mercury by making an equatorial train, that's pushed along by the thermal expansion of the tracks. Always struck me as nifty, if kinda silly, when you could do the polar thing like you're suggesting.
- BLKNSLVR 7y ago
  That was in the novel 2312. Highly recommended for the scope of ideas, however far fetched they're presented well. I'm currently struggling 200 pages into Blue Mars. Great series though (I'm struggling with it due to life getting in the way, as opposed to it becoming a grind - although there's a bit of that too, but it's three 700-odd page novels...)
  - p_l 7y ago
    There was a visit to Mercury colony close to Blue Mars epilogue (this is not much of a spoiler).
jacobush 7y ago
It's devoid of volatiles though? And in a deep gravity well. I may be very expensive to leave. So it would feel a little lonely, and psychologically I think it would be scary to be so close to the Sun.
- Tuna-Fish 7y ago
  Mercury has a very low axial tilt, and substantial surface cratering. Any crater close enough to the poles is going to be in perpetual darkness, and thus very cold. Any volatiles vaporized elsewhere naturally travel until they form deposits on the very cold inner surfaces of such craters. Based on MESSENGER radar data, the Mercury south pole probably has more water than Mars. The temperatures at most of the craters would also support CO2 ice, although our current data can't prove it's existence or rule it out. Nitrogen supply would probably be rough. One of the interesting reasons to consider Mercury for colonization is that a colony on the inside rim of a crater would have very easy access to energy in many forms. Want natural-ish lighting? Raise a diffuse reflector on a pole. Want to melt something? Raise a mirror.
  - jimmux 7y ago
    You make a very convincing case, but would most of the same apply to Earth's moon? I don't know how available water compares, but tilt seems to be the most important factor.
yummypaint 7y ago
One difficulty with mercury is that its magnetic field is about 100x smaller than earth's. This means much less shielding from cosmic rays for the same incident flux. Since it's about twice as close to the sun as earth, its sitting in 4x the radiation field. Not insurmountable if you can dig down, but less of an issue further out in the solar system
Nimelrian 7y ago
Getting stuff to mercury is hard though. IIRC it takes around 16,000 m/s of dV to get from LEO to the surface of mercury. Titan would take even more (19,000) but a huge chunk of it can be reduced by making use of aerobraking.
- Retric 7y ago
  Solar sail or solar powered ionic thrusters are much more effective going to Mercury than Titan. So, total deltaV of the trip is not a great measurement of effort.
- Tuna-Fish 7y ago
  Going to mercury on rockets alone is a non-starter, because when you drop your perihelion low enough to rendezvous with it, your velocity near Mercury will be ridiculous, and there is not enough atmosphere at Mercury to shed the velocity so you have to do it the hard way. However, there is a very efficient trajectory that could be used by solar sailing ships for a fast, cheap route to Mercury once every 16 months. You leave Earth for Venus, where you do a gravity assist to drop your perihelion significantly below the orbit of Mercury, just to get low enough that a reasonable solar sail can get reasonable thrust even with significant cargo. Then you can use your infinite delta-v to match your aphelion with Mercury, and can do an efficient capture trajectory.
  - cattlemansgold 7y ago
    Is there an estimate for how long that would take with a solar sail? If the window is every 16 months and the flight time is another year or more, I would imagine a large scale mission with multiple re-supply trips would be pretty difficult.
luxuryballs 7y ago
And it’s also the closest planet to all other planets! Perfect spot for a space port.

RangerScience 7y ago

I think it was in Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" universe that they colonize Mercury by making an equatorial train, that's pushed along by the thermal expansion of the tracks. Always struck me as nifty, if kinda silly, when you could do the polar thing like you're suggesting.

BLKNSLVR 7y ago
That was in the novel 2312. Highly recommended for the scope of ideas, however far fetched they're presented well. I'm currently struggling 200 pages into Blue Mars. Great series though (I'm struggling with it due to life getting in the way, as opposed to it becoming a grind - although there's a bit of that too, but it's three 700-odd page novels...)
- p_l 7y ago
  There was a visit to Mercury colony close to Blue Mars epilogue (this is not much of a spoiler).

jacobush 7y ago

It's devoid of volatiles though? And in a deep gravity well. I may be very expensive to leave. So it would feel a little lonely, and psychologically I think it would be scary to be so close to the Sun.

Tuna-Fish 7y ago
Mercury has a very low axial tilt, and substantial surface cratering. Any crater close enough to the poles is going to be in perpetual darkness, and thus very cold. Any volatiles vaporized elsewhere naturally travel until they form deposits on the very cold inner surfaces of such craters. Based on MESSENGER radar data, the Mercury south pole probably has more water than Mars. The temperatures at most of the craters would also support CO2 ice, although our current data can't prove it's existence or rule it out. Nitrogen supply would probably be rough. One of the interesting reasons to consider Mercury for colonization is that a colony on the inside rim of a crater would have very easy access to energy in many forms. Want natural-ish lighting? Raise a diffuse reflector on a pole. Want to melt something? Raise a mirror.
- jimmux 7y ago
  You make a very convincing case, but would most of the same apply to Earth's moon? I don't know how available water compares, but tilt seems to be the most important factor.

yummypaint 7y ago

One difficulty with mercury is that its magnetic field is about 100x smaller than earth's. This means much less shielding from cosmic rays for the same incident flux. Since it's about twice as close to the sun as earth, its sitting in 4x the radiation field. Not insurmountable if you can dig down, but less of an issue further out in the solar system

Nimelrian 7y ago

Getting stuff to mercury is hard though. IIRC it takes around 16,000 m/s of dV to get from LEO to the surface of mercury. Titan would take even more (19,000) but a huge chunk of it can be reduced by making use of aerobraking.

Retric 7y ago
Solar sail or solar powered ionic thrusters are much more effective going to Mercury than Titan. So, total deltaV of the trip is not a great measurement of effort.
Tuna-Fish 7y ago
Going to mercury on rockets alone is a non-starter, because when you drop your perihelion low enough to rendezvous with it, your velocity near Mercury will be ridiculous, and there is not enough atmosphere at Mercury to shed the velocity so you have to do it the hard way. However, there is a very efficient trajectory that could be used by solar sailing ships for a fast, cheap route to Mercury once every 16 months. You leave Earth for Venus, where you do a gravity assist to drop your perihelion significantly below the orbit of Mercury, just to get low enough that a reasonable solar sail can get reasonable thrust even with significant cargo. Then you can use your infinite delta-v to match your aphelion with Mercury, and can do an efficient capture trajectory.
- cattlemansgold 7y ago
  Is there an estimate for how long that would take with a solar sail? If the window is every 16 months and the flight time is another year or more, I would imagine a large scale mission with multiple re-supply trips would be pretty difficult.

luxuryballs 7y ago

And it’s also the closest planet to all other planets! Perfect spot for a space port.