What’s the idea of ​​building a space city on the scale of Manhattan in a cost-effective way? | sorae universe portal website

An idea was devised to build a dwelling in outer space while reducing construction costsIt seems that it was a research group led by Peter Miklavcic of the University of Rochester in the United States came up with a new idea for a space city using asteroids as building materials, and verified it theoretically.

What are the drawbacks of the current space colony concept?

When the research group was in a state of lockdown (city siege) in the United States due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection epidemic, “o’neal cylinder head(O’Neill cylinder). The O’Neill Cylinder is a space colony invented by Professor Gerard O’Neill of Princeton University.Rotating a cylindrical structure creates artificial gravity and transforms its interior into a living space.That’s the idea. However, in the traditional space colony idea,Huge construction costs are required to procure and transport building materials such as aluminum and titanium from the Moon.There seems to be a problem.

a relationship: A plan to build a science-fiction-like space colony on the dwarf planet Ceres, with a maximum capacity of about 10,000 times the world’s population!

The research group focused on reducing construction costs through:asteroidMorning. Asteroids originated during the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. According to the University of Rochester,1 mile (about 1.6 kilometers) or moreasteroid displayabout 1000It is supposed to exist and is believed to be an abundant building material. In fact, a research group led by Thomas Mindel at the University of Vienna, Austria, is devising and examining the idea of ​​creating a living space “inside” an asteroid. Validation of ideas is the starting point for discussion.

However, most asteroids are not solid rocks, but stones and sand piled up with weak strength.Orb a pile of rubbleIt is illustrated by the exploration of asteroids such as Itokawa, Bennu and Ryugu. So even if you rotate the asteroid to create artificial gravity,It is not strong enough to withstand centrifugal force, so it breaks when it starts to spinIt seems that.

a relationship: Was the asteroid Ryugu once a comet? Pointing to the possibility in theory

A research group led by Miklavčić has proposed a method for building a cylindrical space city, focusing on the fact that asteroids are fragile objects of rubble. The first groupGet a mesh bag made of high-strength materials such as carbon nanofibersAnd suppose the situation in which it covers an asteroid.solar energyWhen the asteroid is rotated using the energy obtained, the rock mass spreads outward due to the centrifugal forceIt is captured in a cylindrical shape by a mesh bagit’s called.Side walls made of rock blocks serve as living spacesNot only,It also acts as a shield, protecting itself from cosmic rays emitted from the sun.It seems that.

[▲ صورة لمدينة فضائية اقترحتها مجموعة البحث. الألواح الشمسية لتوليد الطاقة هي مصدر الطاقة لخلق الجاذبية الاصطناعية. (Credit: Miklavčič، et al. (2022))]

According to the research group’s calculations,Its radius is about 300 mby spreading the boulders that make up the “bin”The formation of a cylindrical side wall with a radius of about 3 kilometers, a length of about 3 kilometers, and a thickness of about 2 meters.Tray.The area inside the side wall that becomes the living space isabout 56 square kilometers (about the size of Manhattan)Looks like it will

If the plane materializes, does the space city materialize?

However, the research team commented that the innovative space city concept was just a “theory”,The technology needed to build a space city does not currently existI do that.

However, Professor Adam Frank of the University of Rochester, one of the paper’s co-authors, has high hopes for space cities going as follows.

“Achieving a space city might seem like something far in the future. Airplanes that didn’t exist until 1900 now seat thousands of passengers and can fly miles above the Earth’s surface at hundreds of miles per hour. Until you realize you’re flying.”

Source

Text / Misato Kadono