Making asteroids habitable

Abstract

The real development of outer space (permanent human life in space) requires two conditions: all-sufficient space settlement and artificial life conditions close to those prevailing currently on the Earth. (Such a goal extends what is already being attempted in the Earth-biosphere--for example at the 1st Advanced Architecture Contest, Self-Sufficient Housing, sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Spain, during 2006.) The first condition demands production of all main components needed for human life: food, oxidizer, and energy within the outer space and Solar System body colony. The second requisite condition is a large surface settlement having useful plants, attractive flowers, splashing water pools, walking and sport areas, etc. All these conditions may be realized within large 'greenhouses' that will produce food, oxidizer and the good life conditions. Human life on asteroids will be more comfortable if it uses A.A. Bolonkin's macro-project proposal - staying in outer space without special spacesuit (Bolonkin 2006a, p. 335) (mass of current spacesuit reaches 180 kg). The idea of this chapter follows the approach proposed in Bolonkin (2006b, 2007a). The current life conditions on asteroids are far from comfortable. For example, the asteroids do not have any atmosphere and there are deadly space radiation and meteor bombardments. Future humans living on asteroids must be more comfortable for humans to explore and properly exploit these distant places.