What are asteroids and the moons of the solar system made of? Geology on other bodies in the solar system?

Question

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How would we go about mining and colonizing the major moons
and asteroids? What substances would we be likely to get?

Answer 1

There are three types of asteroid bodies.

Stony: Mostly silicates and the lighter metals that compose most of the crust of the Earth (sand)

Nickle Iron: Mostly Heavy Iron and Nickle, but also gold, silver, and radioactive metals, the stuff found in the Earth's core.

Carbonaceous Corondite: This is mostly carbon and ice, cometary you might say...

Our moon is made up of the lighter material because it was formed by a collision with another planet that tore a huge amount of crust material off which formed into the moon.

The reason for separation of the materials into layers should be obvious but it is because when formed the liquids settle out by weight, heaviest sinks lowest displacing the rest.

Answer 2

The others have already answered your question about what they're made of...i.e a whole host of different things. Ni-Fe, Carbonacous chondrites etc...

The main obstacle to mining them, is how to get the resources in and out of Earths atmosphere. Rocket technology is too expensive and requires a lot of fuel. It sounds crazy, but the best way to open up space for mining would be to build a space elevator at the equator (in geostationary orbit). By capturing an asteroid and putting it into orbit (easier than you'd think) you'd have a stable platform to build down from, and a ready source of materials to build the elevator wire. Once built, the space elevator would make it easy to reach orbit, and would be efficient, as energy could be regained by dropping loads back down thw wire to the surface (potential energy to heat to electricity).

From orbit, it would be relatively easy and efficient to use rockets to reach asteroids, mine them, bring back the material and send it down to Earth. There have been several ideas about how to mine asteroids. The main problem is micro-gravity. One suggestion is to basically set up a huge funnel and just blast the rock off the asterois into the funnel, allowing the material to be easily collected at the other end.

We could develop the moon in several ways. It has a ready source of Helium 3 at the surface, provided by solar wind, which could be used for rocket fuel. It also has a lot of silicon. One suggestion has been to send up automatic machines to suck up the lunar regolith and make it into glass, and then solar panels. These could be laid down in strips covering a lot of the moons surface. The energy gained from the solar panels could then be beamed back to Earth as microwaves (which can travel straight through the atmosphere without being attenuated). This could solve all our energy needs forever!

Space mining is a fascinating subject. Try googling it and seeing whats out there. Some of its rubbish, but some of it is within our grasp!

Answer 3

By nameing them!! Asteroids, are merely smaller forms of planets, that have a tendecy, to go flying through space from time to time!! There usually between, or come from around and between, orbits of Mars, and Jupiter.. Their substance would probably be abit like Mars & Jupiter, since there between, orbits of those two planets.

Answer 4

For lot's of answers about comosition of other planets, asteroids, comets , and moons you can go to Space.com and they have tons of things about space. Photographs, too. I'm obsessed with celestial bodies. Mars being my favorite.

Answer 5

Asteroids are what occur when the universe has constipation.
Seriously though, asteroids are mostly water (ice actually).

Answer 6

Asteroids tend to be Iron-nickel rich much like our core. If we could mine them it would likely be for metals like iron and nickel.

As for moons, if they are anything like our moon I don't think we'd be able to get a whole lot out of it.

Answer 7

we can not colonize other planets.over the last 50 years, man's attempts to go to space keep on proving vain. we shouldn't be trying anyway. first we should try and save the earth,(which would really not cost so much to natural resources as space attempts do) and we can take it from there.


change your minds.

Answer 8

same as of earth but very tough and dry. i think we need a larger crew of D-mag pokelons and dumpers, and lots of dynamites. there's may be another way but human will do it. SURE.