yottajoules
Baah, that’s nothing compared to the power of the
Viking Kitties whose power is measured in Zottajoules.
You need some dilithium crystals to create a space warp. Everyone knows this.
Fascinating.
L
Kim Stanley Robinson’s “Red Mars” is probably the best sci-fi book I ever read, full of real science unlike most sci-fi. He’s a bit of a communist, however, so be warned. And I don’t recommend the sequels “Green Mars” and “Blue Mars”. Not worth the read. But “Red Mars” definitely is.
Sounds like Firefly.
Before all this space elevators. Gotta get that cost way down.
Very interesting reading. Thanks.
I see terraforming as “planetary chauvinism”, i.e., the idea that humans can only thrive on the surface of a planet.
Why use all that energy to escape Earth’s gravity and then descend into yet another “gravity well”?
Asteroids and habitats in free space will definitely come first:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O%27Neill_cylinder
There are enough resources easily accessible in the inner Solar System to create habitats that support several times Earth’s current population.
Terraforming the Moon and Mars will happen underground, and are subject to some limitations. However, the vast majority of work can be done by nuclear powered mining robots with remote guidance. There are few drawbacks, and the advantages of doing it this way are many.
The first step is the creation of a reusable spaceship shuttle between Earth and the Moon and Mars. The shuttle is simply a big engine and fuel tank, assembled and filled in Earth orbit, whose purpose is to take other ships there and back. Doing so allows the other ships to maximize their cargo and supplies, instead of having to carry all that fuel. This substantially improves mission length.
Next, the mining robots are sent on a one-way mission to first the Moon, and then to Mars. This means that their lander can be cannibalized for parts, such as tunnel shoring members, ceiling, walls, floor and pressure doors for the tunnel, as well as a large antenna for sharp communications with Earth.
The robots do not need to be fast, just methodical.
On the Moon this evades the vacuum, cosmic and enhanced radiation, extremely abrasive Lunar dust, and extremes of heat and cold. But perhaps the biggest advantage is that missions, in either case, become *cumulative*, meaning that over time, the habitats there just get better and better, and are continually improved.
The robots continue to work when people are not there, and when people are there, the robots nuclear power can be used to power the habitat and equipment, generate heat and oxygen, and act as furnaces to do things like make brick and cement.