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Remote Control Construction Equipment
QUESTION:I think that the first place to tackle is the moon. Send robots up there to
build a base that will be converted into a hotel. It would start off small
with 4 bedrooms. The robots would keep working and add more bedrooms. The
next step would be to build O'Neill type colonies out of near Earth
asteroids. Some people think that the first colonies will be in orbit
around the Earth, but I think that it is more efficient to leave the
colonies near the asteroid. People would have to be really committed to
space travel to live there, but some people are.
A timeline that could be achieved if we had the will to do it:
2003 - Start resurrecting the Saturn/Apollo project.
- Select a location for a Lunar Base
2010 - Surveying robots scout out the area near the future Lunar Base.
2011 - Mining robots land on the moon.
2012 - Construction robots land on the moon.
2013 - Astronauts land on the Moon.
2015 - Tourists land on the Moon.
2016 - Mining and construction equipment lands on an asteroid that is near
the Earth once every 4 years.
2020 - Asteroid equipment updated.
2024 - Humans arrive.
At times the asteroid will be closer to Mars than the Earth is. The
asteroid colony may be useful for remote control Mars research.
ANSWER: In the early 60's, we didn't have any spaceships capable of reaching the
moon, but that didn't stop Kennedy from making his promise. The robots I
have in mind should be easy to build with current technology. They don't
have to be super-intelligent, because we can control them from Earth.
During the 60's, NASA made many things lighter and smaller. They can do the
same with mining equipment.
Most of the costs will be launch costs, so cost will be proportional to
weight. A detailed weight estimate is beyond my expertise. NASA could hire
a team of engineers to design all of the equipment that we'll need on the
moon. These engineers could tell us within two years if this can be done
and how much this equipment will weigh.
If we're going to have a real space program, we'll have to launch something
heavy to the moon or Mars. I'm throwing out a proposal for what we should
launch. If you launch a completed habitat, you have a dead-end project. If
you want a second habitat, you have to launch another one. That's not the
path to forward progress.
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