Eros Outer Atmosphere Settlement

Votes: 24
Views: 5529

I have designed a space settlement entitled "Eros Outer Atmosphere Settlement." It consists of temporary and permanent residential bases built on the Near Earth Asteroid 433 Eros. The design also includes factories, storage areas, hospitals etc on the asteroid. The purpose for the space settlement is because of the changing climatic conditions on Earth, which are causing natural calamities. The settlement will be able to support nearly one million inhabitants from Earth in the first stage.

The design is purely based on facts and figures. The problem of moving Eros is also solved in the design. The place where gravity of sun, moon and earth balance out is called Lagrangian points or commonly called as “L points”. There are basically five L points. But all of them are not equal. For example from L1 to L3 the points are unstable. At L4 it is moderate, but unlike all, L5 point is the most stable; therefore 433 Eros will be placed on L5.

Another method of moving Eros is through the mass drivers. They are also called as electro-magnetic catapults and use linear motors to thrust the catapult at tremendous speed. Mass drivers utilize coils of wire through which electricity runs to create electro magnets. Linear thrust of electro magnets boost up the payload of the path.

The deign also includes zeroing the inclination of 433 Eros. In order to fulfill this task the points where Eros’s orbit crosses the ecliptic will have to be known. We can do this by using the vis-viva equation.

After zeroing Eros’s inclination, its perihelion distance can be changed so that the asteroid crosses into Earth’s orbit. The velocity of Eros at perihelion can be found by putting Eros’s aphelion distance and semi-major axis into the vis-viva equation.

In order to capture 433 Eros into Earth's orbit, we need to make use of the moon itself. The speed of Eros needs to be reduced by 0.57 m/s.

Now, our task is to begin the construction Eros outer atmosphere settlement. First and foremost, the surface of 433 Eros will be drilled using hi-tech drills and bombarding the interior just like they do on Earth. The miners and workers on the asteroid will be shifted underground using lifts and there they would exploit minerals such as nickel and iron-ore, some of which will be transported back to Earth and the rest will be used for the settlement.

Power stations will be a necessary requirement that will be built underground and, they will provide electricity to shops, residential areas, hospitals, education institutes and other places. Being an asteroid, 433 Eros possesses an irregular shape and so it does not have an atmosphere. As, for this purpose, a layer of graphite would be spread over Eros’s surface and it would protect the colonists from the deadly radiation of the sun.

Water to Eros will either be brought from Earth or created on the asteroid by fusing Oxygen and Hydrogen.

So, this is a short description of my design.

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Shah Mir Aizaz
  • Type of entry:
    individual
  • Profession:
    Student
  • Number of times previously entering contest:
    1
  • Shah Mir's favorite design and analysis tools:
    Designs based on facts, figures and developed through computer software. Mainly interested in creating research papers.
  • Shah Mir's hobbies and activities:
    Read articles related to biocentrism, technology.
  • Shah Mir belongs to these online communities:
    Facebook, Instagram.
  • Shah Mir is inspired by:
    My design is of next generation aircraft name LA-95, designed for rapid transportation. It is entirely different, technologically, from the modern era air crafts.It is built on speed and hi-tech equipment.
    About myself, i have achieved 2nd rank globally in NASA Space Settlement Design Contest 2015, Honorable Mention in the same contest held in 2013. My design, if put into practice will open up new gates in the field of aviation.
  • Patent status:
    none