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In a lecture I saw 10 years ago, Freeman Dyson advocated for teaching children to genetically engineer plants. He thought without the playful urge of children,

In a lecture I saw 10 years ago, Freeman Dyson advocated for teaching children to genetically engineer plants. He thought without the playful urge of children, we’d never be able to create “warm blooded” plants capable of surviving on asteroids and the moon. He pointed out that there is a greater surface area on the asteroid belt than all the planets. I still don’t know how he’d deal with atmosphere, but I love the vision. And, I learned that there are some exothermic plants, like Skunk Cabbage, that can chemically regulate their body temperature. Like I said, I love the vision.

hinkley 2y ago
Lots of carbon and oxygen in asteroids if you pick the right ones. Some of the carbonaceous ones have some nitrogen as well. The big trick with smelting in space will be capturing all of the dust and smoke instead of losing the stuff and creating navigational hazards.
WillAdams 2y ago
Hal Clement envisioned a genetically engineered organism able to enclose water in outer space in his short story "Raindrop" --- collected in _Space Lash_ (originally published as _Small Changes_), it is a remarkable collection of short stories, many of which are still relevant today.
nomel 2y ago
> I still don’t know how he’d deal with atmosphere Rye grass can survive at 0.07 atmosphere [1], or about 1 psi. Maybe some grid made of periodically anchored cables, covered in thin, transparent, polymer layers? Stacked layers could be used to limit conducted heat loss, repair urgency, and layer thickness requirement (layers would see pressure difference, probably also important for permiability). At night, pull a thin IR reflective layer over that's some microns thick, that lives out in the zero pressure side, to limit radiated losses. Once it's all going, maybe some bio plastic synthesis, to make plastics for repairs. [1] https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19860010460 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19860010460

hinkley 2y ago

Lots of carbon and oxygen in asteroids if you pick the right ones. Some of the carbonaceous ones have some nitrogen as well. The big trick with smelting in space will be capturing all of the dust and smoke instead of losing the stuff and creating navigational hazards.

WillAdams 2y ago

Hal Clement envisioned a genetically engineered organism able to enclose water in outer space in his short story "Raindrop" --- collected in _Space Lash_ (originally published as _Small Changes_), it is a remarkable collection of short stories, many of which are still relevant today.

nomel 2y ago

> I still don’t know how he’d deal with atmosphere Rye grass can survive at 0.07 atmosphere [1], or about 1 psi. Maybe some grid made of periodically anchored cables, covered in thin, transparent, polymer layers? Stacked layers could be used to limit conducted heat loss, repair urgency, and layer thickness requirement (layers would see pressure difference, probably also important for permiability). At night, pull a thin IR reflective layer over that's some microns thick, that lives out in the zero pressure side, to limit radiated losses. Once it's all going, maybe some bio plastic synthesis, to make plastics for repairs. [1] https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19860010460 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19860010460