EricsonEricson wrote:They are buckyballs.
They are created when electro-statically charged carbon is ejected into vacuum.
Also common on other moons. Where they flow cling and settle.
They are also a rich source of light weight impact resistant material for space travel.
This is what I thought also. Wouldn't this make both a great source of material AND a space station? Develop a spray material that hardens and seal walls and floors creating various sized habitation areas that would take less time and effort to build since the cavities already exist. Only bulk heads would be needed at entrances and of course compartmentalize adjacent areas. I would be like an ant colony except we wouldn't have to excavate everything, we'd be using most of the existing environment.
How do we control it? Bringing it into a closer orbit, preferably Mars or something between Earth and Mars as a way station escapes me but I have a couple of ideas (far fetched of course) on how to control its rotation.
1) A solar sail connected to something like a locomotive on the surface with a nuclear power source riding a series of rails on the surface. This locomotive would use mag lev technologies as a frictionless brake. The sail could be shuttered when not in use. (hardest and probable least cost effective)
2) A series of non-linear magnetorquers placed below the surface around the moon. Based on the shape of Hyperion I would say five might be sufficient.
Plenty of power would be needed so each station would have redundant reactors and they should all be accessible to the surface via shafts. They should be created in a modular fashion so that they can be removed for rebuilding or repairing at another location or more importantly ejected in case of an emergency.
Don't forget a space elevator would be an option.
I enjoy dreaming.
[quote="EricsonEricson"]They are buckyballs.
They are created when electro-statically charged carbon is ejected into vacuum.
Also common on other moons. Where they flow cling and settle.
They are also a rich source of light weight impact resistant material for space travel.[/quote]
This is what I thought also. Wouldn't this make both a great source of material AND a space station? Develop a spray material that hardens and seal walls and floors creating various sized habitation areas that would take less time and effort to build since the cavities already exist. Only bulk heads would be needed at entrances and of course compartmentalize adjacent areas. I would be like an ant colony except we wouldn't have to excavate everything, we'd be using most of the existing environment.
How do we control it? Bringing it into a closer orbit, preferably Mars or something between Earth and Mars as a way station escapes me but I have a couple of ideas (far fetched of course) on how to control its rotation.
1) A solar sail connected to something like a locomotive on the surface with a nuclear power source riding a series of rails on the surface. This locomotive would use mag lev technologies as a frictionless brake. The sail could be shuttered when not in use. (hardest and probable least cost effective)
2) A series of non-linear magnetorquers placed below the surface around the moon. Based on the shape of Hyperion I would say five might be sufficient.
Plenty of power would be needed so each station would have redundant reactors and they should all be accessible to the surface via shafts. They should be created in a modular fashion so that they can be removed for rebuilding or repairing at another location or more importantly ejected in case of an emergency.
Don't forget a space elevator would be an option.
I enjoy dreaming.