Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

tahanson43206 · 2024-03-06 11:47:39

Here is a result provided by Gemini, using a calculation for field strength provided by ChatGPT4

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We've been given a value for strength of the 1 Tesla field at 40 meters: 40m - 0.000016 Tesla. Please use that figure to compute the force on the washer at that distance. Please be sure to stay on the axis of the magnet so that the gradient question is not involved.
Gemini reply:
Absolutely! Now that we have the confirmed magnetic field strength (B_2) at 40 meters (0.000016 Tesla) and the force on the washer at 1 meter (F_1) from the previous calculations (based on material properties), we can estimate the force at the new distance.
Given:
Magnetic field strength at 1 meter (B_1) = 1 Tesla
Magnetic field strength at 40 meters (B_2) = 0.000016 Tesla
Force on washer at 1 meter (F_1) (based on material properties - we can use either high or low susceptibility scenario)
Unknown:
Force on washer at 40 meters (F_2)
Calculation:
The force on a magnetic moment (m) in a magnetic field (B) is proportional to the field strength:
F = m x B
Assuming the magnetic moment of the washer (m) remains relatively constant (dependent on the material properties), we can estimate the force at 40 meters using the following relationship:
F_2 ≈ F_1 * (B_2 / B_1)
Using the high susceptibility scenario (F_1 ≈ 5 grams):
F_2 ≈ 5 grams * (0.000016 T / 1 T) ≈ 8.0 x 10^-8 grams
Using the lower susceptibility scenario (F_1 ≈ 1 gram):
F_2 ≈ 1 gram * (0.000016 T / 1 T) ≈ 1.6 x 10^-8 grams
As expected, the force on the washer at 40 meters is significantly weaker compared to the values at 1 meter due to the much lower magnetic field strength (160 million times weaker).
Important Note: These are estimations based on the assumption that the magnetic moment of the washer remains constant. In reality, the washer's magnetic behavior might be slightly influenced by the weaker field at the new location.
Therefore, depending on the washer's material properties:
In the high susceptibility scenario, the estimated force on the washer at 40 meters is approximately 8.0 x 10^-8 grams.
In the lower susceptibility scenario, the estimated force on the washer at 40 meters is approximately 1.6 x 10^-8 grams.
These forces are incredibly small and likely undetectable with typical measurement equipment.

What the results suggest is that due to the inverse cube law, the force of a 1 Tesla magnet on one side of an asteroid would not be measurable on the other side.

This does not mean that Void's original idea would not work. What it means is that a person planning to use this method needs to understand the inverse cube law.

(th)

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-04-13 01:48:58

TO MAKE LIFE MULTIPLANETARY
https://www.spacex.com/updates/#make-li … iplanetary
The goal of SpaceX is to build the technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary. This is the first time in the 4-billion-year history of Earth that it’s possible to realize that goal and protect the light of consciousness.

Nasa's Dart mission to blast asteroid off course created debris that will smash craters into Mars
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/nasa-dart-mi … s-craters/

tahanson43206 · 2024-04-13 06:40:28

For Mars_B4_Moon re #352

Thank you for bringing this topic back into view. We (humans) have an opportunity to visit Apophis in 2029 with more than the typical scientific interest. This close approach by the asteroid is an opportunity to harvest material from the asteroid in a serious/robust manner.

We (forum) have discussed this in a serious manner since Calliban opened his membership with a post on the subject, and we have a number of ideas available to develop for possible use in this application.

We have one member (GW Johnson) who is capable of plotting a course to intercept and dock with Apophis in 2029.

We have other members with skills that have the potential to assist with a project on this scale.

(th)

Calliban · 2024-04-23 09:40:48

Meteorites indicate that many asteroids experienced radioactive internal heating early in the solar system.
https://aasnova.org/2022/02/23/meteorit … asteroids/

This suggests to me that life could have gotten started in some unexpected places. Radioactive decay continues to this day in rocks containing traces of pottasium-40, Al-26, Th-232 and U-238. Given that all asteroids contain at least some of these elements, they must be generating internal heat today. Hence, all asteroids must have a temperature gradient with increasing depth. For small asteroids, the temperature at their centres will not be substantially greater than average surface temperature. But as radius increases and surface area per unit volume decreases, the thermal gradient will increase. Large asteroids 100+ km in diameter, could still have warm cores, although probably not hot enough to melt rock or iron. But warm enough to use as a geothermal heat source? Maybe.

The case for this is stronger if the asteroid surface is covered with thick, loosely bound regolith. This has very low thermal conductivity in vacuum, on the order of 1-3mW/m.K. An asteroid with a uniformly thick regolith layer would be very good at retaining internal heat. This would be an interesting question to investigate using a spreadsheet programme. If we drill down to the core of a 100km asteroid, will it be warm enough to melt water ice?

Last edited by Calliban (2024-04-23 09:45:25)

Terraformer · 2024-04-23 09:49:50

Ceres is known to have liquid water. How connected it is idk, I don't think Dawn was equipped to find that out?

Void · 2024-04-24 09:43:39

https://spaceref.com/science-and-explor … -activity/
Quote:

The Dwarf Planet Ceres Consists of up to a Quarter Ice and Water

Image Quote:
Quote:

Ahuna Mons on Ceres: A New and Unusual Type of Volcanic Activity
By Keith Cowing
June 11, 2019
LinkedInFacebookTwitter
Filed under Ceres, NASA

Done

Last edited by Void (2024-04-24 09:47:30)

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-06-06 05:28:15

In the Race for Space Metals, Companies Hope to Cash In
https://undark.org/2024/05/08/asteroid- … ce-metals/

Forget Mars — This Unseen Frontier Is Worth Quintillions Of Dollars (18 Zeroes)
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/forge … 39235.html

Maybe not so troublesome for robots out as far as the Asteroids the Sun warms machines so Asteroid Belt will be heated enough by Solar flux and computer and machine by their own electrical waste heat that auxiliary heating maybe is not not necessary.

Terraformer · 2025-01-11 15:45:09

Going back to the ring concept, what if it was a cylinder? Enclose a small rubble pile with a spinning cylinder and then deliberately disrupt the pile. Possibly with gas added to help fluidise the rock and dust. With enough centrifugal force (1% g? 5%?) the rock will settle on the ring, and it may be possible to make it settle out by density as well for ease of processing.

This could also be done under thrust, using the thrust of the spacecraft to do it. One can imagine a large frontal funnel which is used to push the asteroid, containing it as it is disrupted. A means to move small rubble piles around.

Void · 2025-01-11 16:40:17

I think that is a good plan Terraformer.

I have recently read that James Web found lots of tiny asteroids in the belt. They may tend to be rubble piles and what you suggest could well work with them.

I like it.

Ending Pending

https://www.livescience.com/space/aster … ward-earth
Quote:

Astronomers analyzing archival images from JWST have discovered an unexpectedly vast population of the smallest asteroids ever seen in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

So, maybe bite sized, and maybe a jumble of materials. Maybe some platinum metals, Carbonaceous, and then stony materials. They might be like dust bunnies.

You just scoop them up in Terraformers centrifugal can. Then you have a very low gravity field to process the materials in as Terraformer has suggested.

Ending Pending

Last edited by Void (2025-01-11 16:47:11)

Void · 2025-01-24 11:03:26

The moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos may not be asteroids, but seem to resemble them.

Terraformer has been helpful in forming some of my ideas.

A tool that has some foundation in the thinking of Terraformer and Calliban, would perhaps resemble a Cookie Cutter Shark. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cookiecutter_shark Such a tool if it works for Phobos and Deimos might also work for some asteroids.

This is the first version I have for something like that:

As pictured, it looks like it could chew on a tiny blob of lose materials. For Phobos, it might just Cookie-Cut some materials from the surface of Phobos, or I suppose Deimos.

So, here I am supposing that the Cookie-Cutter device will strip mine and object and that material will be added to a larger structure. This does not forbid tunneling into an asteroid or moon, and may help in such a tunneling effort.

The Cookie-Cutter is basically a centrifugal ring auger.

Here are some images of augers: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Au … C3&first=1

I have not shown blades in the machine drawing above, but we can imagine that they would be useful if added, perhaps spiral would be good, leading into a centrifugal trough to hole the spoils.

I believe that this family of thinking may relate to this sort of somewhat previous thinking: https://newatlas.com/space/space-habitat-ring-plan/
Image Quote: ?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F0c%2Fe7%2F1bf75795423681c18b5f25c5abfd%2Ffea-asteroid-base.jpg
Quote:

You can't build space cities on the surface of asteroids, or even inside them, really, but you could turn them inside out to become the ground layers of spinning ring-type space stations, says a Rochester team, and it'd be a relatively cheap and easy way to build yourself a space habitat for humanityUniversity of Rochester

Probably the materials taken by the Cookie-Cutter need to be processed, and the good parts extracted, and the slag made into "Brick" that can be added to the large structure also shown in this post.

I consider these thoughts to be on the way to some sort of practical process. I would not like to expend fuels in propelling these things, so, I might like to see a propulsion based on Oxygen alone, as Oxygen is a common substance to be found almost anywhere. Other suggested propulsion methods could be Neumann Drive and Magdrive. And Aluminum and LOX method might also be considered.

When slag bricks are made, they might be incased in a tensile structure such as Carbon Nanotube and perhaps metal wires, so that these slag bricks can be joined to each other. There is some reason to think that Phobos and Deimos may have Carbon in them, but if not then the atmosphere of Mars certainly could provide it.

A great amount of robotics and automation might be used in this work, to establish safeholds in the orbits of Mars.

While the Martian-Mole option is interesting as well as a partner to this, I think Mars/Phobos/Deimos practically begs for
and Avian approach to Mars/Phobos/Deimos.

Ending Pending

Last edited by Void (2025-01-24 11:43:50)

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#351 2024-03-06 11:47:39

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#352 2024-04-13 01:48:58

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#353 2024-04-13 06:40:28

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#354 2024-04-23 09:40:48

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#355 2024-04-23 09:49:50

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#356 2024-04-24 09:43:39

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#357 2024-06-06 05:28:15

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#358 2025-01-11 15:45:09

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#359 2025-01-11 16:40:17

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

#360 2025-01-24 11:03:26

Re: Colonizing / terraforming small asteroids

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