Colonization Of The Asteroid Belt
Asteroids, including those in the asteroid belt, have been suggested as possible sites of space colonization. Motives include the survival of humanity, and the specific economic opportunity for asteroid mining. Obstacles include transportation distance, temperature, radiation, lack of gravity, and psychological issues. Most asteroids have minerals that could be mined. Because these bodies do not have substantial gravity wells, only a low delta-V is needed to haul materials to a construction site. There is estimated to be enough material in the main asteroid belt alone to build enough space habitats to equal the habitable surface area of 3,000 Earths. The asteroid belt has about 1018 metric tonnes of overall material available – ten thousand times more than is available in the near-Earth asteroids – but it is thinly distributed as it covers a vast region of space. The largest asteroid is Ceres, which at about 940 km in diameter is big enough to be a dwarf plane ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Main Asteroid Belt Asteroids
Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (other), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen *Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries *''The Main'', the diverse core running through Montreal, Quebec, Canada, also separating the Two Solitudes *Main (lunar crater), located near the north pole of the Moon *Main (Martian crater) People and organizations *Main (surname), a list of people with this family name *Main, alternate spelling for the Minaeans, an ancient people of modern-day Yemen *Main (band), a British ambient band formed in 1991 *Chas. T. Main, an American engineering and hydroelectric company founded in 1893 *MAIN (Mountain Area Information Network), former operator of WPVM-LP (MAIN-FM) in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S. *Main Deli Steak House ("The Main"), a smoked-meat delicatessen in Montreal, Quebec, Canada Ships *Main ( ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Precious Metal
Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high Value (economics), economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less reactivity (chemistry), chemically reactive than most elements. They are usually ductile and have a high Lustre (mineralogy), lustre. Historically, precious metals were important as currency but they are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial raw material, raw materials. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium each have an ISO 4217 currency code. The best known precious metals are the precious coinage metals, which are gold and silver. Although both have industrial uses, they are better known for their uses in art, jewellery, jewelry, and coinage. Other precious metals include the platinum group metals: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, of which platinum is the most widely traded. The demand for precious metals is driven not only by their pra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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162173 Ryugu
162173 Ryugu ( provisional designation ) is a near-Earth object and also a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It measures approximately in diameter and is a dark object of the rare spectral type Cb, with qualities of both a C-type asteroid and a B-type asteroid. In June 2018, the Japanese spacecraft '' Hayabusa2'' arrived at the asteroid. After making measurements and taking samples, ''Hayabusa2'' left Ryugu for Earth in November 2019/ and returned the sample capsule to Earth on 5 December 2020. The samples showed the presence of organic compounds, such as uracil (one of the four components in RNA) and vitamin B3. Discovery and name Ryugu was discovered on 10 May 1999 by astronomers with the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research at the Lincoln Lab's ETS near Socorro, New Mexico, in the United States. It was given the provisional designation . The asteroid was officially named "Ryugu" by the Minor Planet Center on 28 September 2015 (). The name refers to R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Near-Earth Asteroid
A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orbit around the Sun, rather than its current position, thus an object with such an orbit is considered an NEO even at times when it is far from making a close approach of Earth. If an NEO's orbit crosses the Earth's orbit, and the object is larger than across, it is considered a potentially hazardous object (PHO). Most known PHOs and NEOs are asteroids, but about a third of a percent are comets. There are over 37,000 known near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and over 120 known short-period near-Earth comets (NECs). A number of solar-orbiting meteoroids were large enough to be tracked in space before striking Earth. It is now widely accepted that collisions in the past have had a significant role in shaping the geological and biological history of Earth. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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433 Eros
433 Eros is a stony asteroid of the Amor group, and the first discovered, and second-largest near-Earth object. It has an elongated shape and a volume-equivalent diameter of approximately . Visited by the NEAR Shoemaker space probe in 1998, it became the first asteroid ever studied from its own orbit. The asteroid was discovered by German astronomer C. G. Witt at the Berlin Observatory on 13 August 1898 in an eccentric orbit between Mars and Earth. It was later named after Eros, a god from Greek mythology, the son of Aphrodite. He is identified with the planet Venus. History Discovery Eros was discovered on 13 August 1898 by Carl Gustav Witt at Berlin Urania Observatory and Auguste Charlois at Nice Observatory and temporarily labeled D.Q. Witt was taking a two-hour exposure of beta Aquarii to secure astrometric positions of asteroid 185 Eunike. Name Eros is named after the Greek god of love, Erōs. It was the first minor planet to be given a male name; the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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MARS-500
The MARS-500 mission was a psychosocial isolation experiment conducted between 2007 and 2011 by Russia, the European Space Agency, and China, in preparation for an unspecified future crewed spaceflight to the planet Mars. The experiment's facility was located at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow, Russia. Between 2007 and 2011, three different crews of volunteers lived and worked in a mock-up spacecraft at IBMP. The final stage of the experiment, which was intended to simulate a 520-day crewed mission, was conducted by an all-male crew consisting of three Russians (Alexey Sitev, Sukhrob Kamolov, Alexander Smoleevskij), a Frenchman (Romain Charles), an Italian (Diego Urbina), and a Chinese citizen (Yue Wang). The mock-up facility simulated an Earth-Mars shuttle spacecraft, an ascent-descent craft, and the Martian surface. The volunteers who participated in the three stages included professionals with experience in engineering, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 in the context of European integration. Its 2025 annual budget was €7.7 billion. The ESA Human and Robotic Exploration programme includes human spaceflight (mainly through participation in the International Space Station programme); as well as the launch and operation of missions to Mars and Moon. Further activities include science missions to Jupiter, Mercury, the Sun, Earth observation, Asteroid impact avoidance and Telecommunications missions, designing launch vehicles; and maintaining Europe's Spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou (French Guiana). Further programmes include space safety, satellite navigation, applications and commercialisation. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 6 is operated through Arianespace ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mars Rover
A Mars rover is a remote-controlled motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny positions to weather winter months, and they can advance the knowledge of how to perform very remote robotic vehicle control. They serve a different purpose than orbital spacecraft like '' Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter''. A more recent development is the Mars helicopter. , there have been six successful robotically operated Mars rovers; the first five, managed by the American NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, were (by date of Mars landing): '' Sojourner'' (1997), '' Spirit'' (2004–2010), '' Opportunity'' (2004–2018), ''Curiosity'' (2012–present), and '' Perseverance'' (2021–present). The sixth, managed by the China National Space Administration, is '' Zhurong'' (2021–2022). On January 24, 2016, NASA reported that th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Human Mission To Mars
The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Long-term proposals have included sending settlers and terraforming the planet. Currently, only robotic landers, rovers and a helicopter have been on Mars. The farthest humans have been beyond Earth is the Moon, under the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Apollo program which ended in 1972. Conceptual proposals for missions that would involve human explorers started in the early 1950s, with planned missions typically being stated as taking place between 10 and 30 years from the time they are drafted. The list of crewed Mars mission plans shows the various mission proposals that have been put forth by multiple organizations and space agencies in this field of space exploration. The plans for these crews have varied—from scientific expeditions, in which a small group (between two an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Interplanetary Spaceflight
Interplanetary spaceflight or interplanetary travel is spaceflight (Human spaceflight, crewed or Uncrewed spacecraft, uncrewed) between bodies within a single planetary system. Spaceflights become interplanetary by accelerating spacecrafts beyond orbital speed, reaching escape velocity relative to Earth at 11.2 km/s, entering heliocentric orbit, possibly accelerating further, often by performing gravity assist Flyby (spaceflight), flybys at Earth and other planets. Most of today's spaceflight remains Earth bound, with much less being interplanetary, all of which performed by uncrewed spacecrafts, and only just a few spaceflights having accelerated beyond, to system escape velocity, eventually performing interstellar spaceflight. Uncrewed space probes have flown to all the observed planets in the Solar System as well as to dwarf planets Pluto and Ceres (dwarf planet), Ceres, and several asteroids. Orbiters and landers return more information than fly-by missions. Crewed flights ha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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511 Davida
511 Davida is a large C-type asteroid in the asteroid belt. It is one of the largest asteroids; approximately tied for 7th place, to within measurement uncertainties, and the 5th or 6th most massive. It was discovered by R. S. Dugan in 1903. Davida is named after David Peck Todd, an astronomy professor at Amherst College. Physical characteristics Davida is approximately 270–310 km in diameter and comprises an estimated 1.5% of the total mass of the asteroid belt. It is a C-type asteroid, which means that it is dark in colouring with a carbonaceous chondrite composition. From 2002 to 2007, astronomers at the Keck Observatory used the Keck II telescope, which is fitted with adaptive optics, to photograph Davida. The asteroid is not a dwarf planet: there are at least two promontories and at least one flat facet with 15-km deviations from a best-fit ellipsoid. The facet is presumably a 150-km global-scale crater like the ones seen on 253 Mathilde. Conrad et al. (2007) s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researchers, the laboratory is now owned and sponsored by NASA and administered and managed by Caltech. The primary function of the laboratory is the construction and operation of planetary robotic spacecraft, though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions. It is also responsible for operating the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN). Among the major active projects at the laboratory, some are the Mars 2020 mission, which includes the ''Perseverance (rover), Perseverance'' rover; the Mars Science Laboratory mission, including the ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'' rover; the ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter''; the ''Juno (spacecraft), Juno'' spacecraft orbiting Jupiter; the ''Soil Moisture Active P ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |