How to Colonize an Asteroid

Constructing the Asteroid Colony

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The process of constructing the asteroid colony is a feat on the scale of the egyptian pyramids - a major engineering project. Thousands of tons of mass will have to be extracted from the core of the asteroid, and raw materials must be processed. Let's take a look at some of the steps involved;

• Select the proper asteroid.

• Install basic power systems on the surface.

• Disassemble the colony ship and bury the modules.

• Set up basic materials processing facilities.

• Assemble the solar concentration systems.

• Begin cutting the main shaft.

• Direct resources to the production of more mirrors from asteroid materials.

• Begin cutting small shaft from the opposite pole.

• Begin horizontal expansion of the inner sphere.

• Some design alternatives.

• Plug the main shaft.

• Create Artificial Gravity

• Introduce a basic atmosphere.

• Create ponds filled with water.

• Begin biological processing of the atmosphere.

• Establish an ecosystem.

Sounds simple, no?

© 1998, Robert Lyon Richards