Colonization of the solar system Let’s start with Mercury

(ORDO NEWS) — When it comes to space colonization, many immediately imagine the Moon , Mars , the clouds of Venus and, probably, Saturn ‘s moon Titan.

Undoubtedly, these are very curious objects of the solar system, where humanity can settle, finding a “spare home”, which may become a necessity in case everything on Earth finally goes awry.

But are these objects so promising as to waste energy, time and money on a dangerous attempt to tame extraterrestrial nature?

If we want to become colonizers of the solar system, then we need to start somewhere. It is fair if the Moon is chosen for the first step, since it is the closest object to us, to which it takes 2-3 days to fly with current technologies.

However, by building a base on the Moon, we will actually only give back, since it is rather tight with minerals there.

Yes, there is helium-3 that can be used as fuel for fusion reactors, but here’s the catch: we don’t have fusion reactors yet.

In terms of finances, Venus, Mars and Titan are exceptionally unrecoverable investments: there is nothing special to take there, the conditions are nightmarish, and terraforming is hardly possible. Space business cannot be built there in comfortable conditions.

If we want to take a truly serious step, then for colonization and even partial terraforming, we must go to … Mercury.

A rather inhospitable place, where on the day side the temperature rises to 427 degrees Celsius, and on the night side it drops to -173 degrees. Conditions, to put it mildly, so-so. But!

 

Why is Mercury a special place?

• Mercury has a lot of iron, nickel, silicate minerals and other things that are necessary for building a reliable base. The colonists, having arrived at the place, could immediately set to work
• In the polar craters of Mercury there is a huge amount of water ice, since sunlight does not penetrate there. An ideal place for the extraction of a key resource and the construction of a settlement
• Beneath the surface of Mercury lie large lava tubes that are ideal for settlement. There, inside the tubes, the colonists will be maximally protected from the aggressive external environment
• Mercury is closest to the Sun of all planets and satellites, so the production and storage of solar energy there would reach a fundamentally new level

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