Fill Ponds and Introduce Bacteria
How to Colonize an Asteroid
Fill Ponds and Introduce Bacteria
As the atmospheric pressure begins to rise inside the colony, large shallow ponds covering a majority of the interior surface will have to be filled with water. Bacteria and algae will be introduced to these ponds to begin the process of converting carbon dioxide to oxygen and creating building blocks for the soil.
Micro-organisms in the ponds will break down the carbon dioxide and their bodies will become the basis for a rich organic soil. The temperature inside the colony will have to be raised to a tropical level, and different types of bacteria will have to be released in a controlled manner to promote the decay which will create a useable soil.
As the proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere reaches the correct level, the temperature can be lowered a bit and some of the ponds drained. The sludge of dead algae will become the basis of the soil, and will have to be tested for all of the correct trace elements. If any compounds are missing from the soil, they will have to be procured from other asteroids, or imported from earth (Horribly Expenssive!).
