3 ms·
As a source of materials it's also not very good. Most of the stuff is a finely mixed slag with hard-to-recover materials. All this from the bottom of a deep gr
by iwwr 12y ago
As a source of materials it's also not very good. Most of the stuff is a finely mixed slag with hard-to-recover materials. All this from the bottom of a deep gravity well, deeper than that of Mars when we account for no atmosphere to slow you down. Asteroids are much better comparatively since you can have your pick at those that have concentrated materials of the sort you're looking for.
- hga 12y agoWe'll have to do a fair amount more exploration and/or be lucky before asteroids can be a source, but, yeah, your points are well taken. Then again, the moon is there, and [ pretty much every other point I'd make is addressed by my novel reference ^_^, modulo maybe the moon's gravity will be relatively good for humans. Of course, then Mars' would be better. ]
- lazaroclapp 12y agoSeems like a significant source of aneutronic fusion fuel, which gives you the energy generation (or bang) of conventional fusion but lets you isolate most of the radiation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3#Extraterrestrial_abundance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3#Extraterrestrial_abun...