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Space Capitalism pp 71–90Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Inner Planets and Extra-Terrestrial Moons

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism ((PASTCL))

Abstract

Here we consider Mars, Venus, Mercury, and extra-terrestrial moons (Europa, Ganymede, Titan). Needless to say, of these options, the first is by far the best choice for colonization, mining, etc. Indeed, sometimes temperatures on Earth (e.g. Canada, Siberia) are even colder than those on the fourth planet from the Sun. Oxygen, of course, is another matter, but even with present technology, this obstacle can be overcome. The other heavenly bodies will have to wait their turn. This chapter takes an intense look at all of these planets and moons.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In a negative manner, of course, since it counsels against colonizing Mars.

  2. 2.

    According to one published poem: “A horseless carriage they used to say: ‘Surely it will never move, If not fueled with oats and hay’” (Abramson 2004).

  3. 3.

    For valuable sources of such incorrect predictions, to the effect that this or that technology would never occur, consider the following ill-advised examples of wild-eyed claims of impossible dreams that are nearly endless. Here are some pithy examples: “What can be more palpably absurd than the prospect held out of locomotives traveling twice as fast as stagecoaches?”; “Well-informed people know that it is impossible to transmit the human voice over wires as may be done with dots and dashes of Morse code, and that, were it possible to do so, the thing would be of no practical value.”; and “To place a man in a multi-stage rocket and project him into the controlling gravitational field of the Moon where the passengers can make scientific observations, perhaps land alive, and then return to Earth —all that constitutes a wild dream worthy of Jules Verne. I am bold enough to say that such a man-made voyage will never occur regardless of all future advances.” One would think that with examples such as these under our belt, technological skeptics such as Regis would show a bit more modesty. For other inaccurate predictions, under-estimating technological progress see Pegg 2014; for yet more erroneous predictions by famous futurists, see Chappell 2014.

  4. 4.

    History.com n.d.; Marco Polo’s trips are legendary ; WNET. 2008. Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian explorer, was the first to successfully reach the South Pole on December 14, 1911; see Czech 2006. “The journey to the pole and back had taken 99 days—10 fewer than scheduled—and they had covered about 1860 nautical miles (3440 km).” Source: Amundsen et al. 1912. Magellan’s Voyage began from Spain on September 20, 1519 and ended in the Philippines on March 16, 1521 (he was killed by natives on April 27). Source : Ferdinand Magellan Timeline 2015. Regarding HMS Bounty: “In December 1787, the Bounty left England for Tahiti in the South Pacific… After a 10-month journey, the Bounty arrived in Tahiti in October 1788…” Source: History.com 2016. We owe these citations to Richard Fast.

  5. 5.

    Privacy is very important in this context, but it is not a (negative) right. Rather, it is a positive “right.” That is to say, no right at all but rather an aspect of wealth. On negative versus positive rights in general see Block 1986; Gordon 2004; Katz n.d.; Long 1993; Mercer 2001; Rothbard 1982b; Selick 2014; Williams 2016. On the case for privacy not being a legitimate right, see , Block 1991, 2012, 2013a, b, ch. 18; Block, Kinsella and Whitehead 2006. Finally, we must ask, how much privacy did the crew members of Nao Victoria and Magellan’s other vessels have during their voyages?

  6. 6.

    We remind the reader that for all practical purposes, a sailor, except for the stale water which he brought along in a 90-foot vessel in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean would find no potable H2O.

  7. 7.

    https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/mars-officially-colder-than-canada-thursday/43251; http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/mars-warmer-than-parts-of-canada-u-s-1.2895092; and temperature in the Canadian Yukon sometimes is on a par with the Asteroid Belt: http://nationalpost.com/news/canada/a-scientific-analysis-of-just-how-damned-cold-it-is-in-canada.

  8. 8.

    The increased rotation stems from the effect of angular momentum. It is like an ice skater entering a spin. At first, he starts to curve, as an object entering an orbit. Then he tightens his curvature and places his limbs close to his body. The conservation of momentum requires that the speed of rotation increases as the diameter decreases.

  9. 9.

    We admit that any system of producing water on the planet’s surface would be temporary and would need to be repeated unless a viable magnetosphere could be created. The latter effort would involve the Herculean effort of creating and maintaining a liquid core. Alternatively, a superconducting cable in orbit around the planet could produce a magnetic field (also Herculean). Without one to protect the new atmosphere, the solar wind would gradually blow it out to space. Hence the need to constantly replace it. We admit that goals such as creating liquid water on the surface and an atmosphere is difficult. Our point here is that it is not impossible, except perhaps for naysayers and bureaucrats.

  10. 10.

    Rader (2014) advocates, at least initially, a one-way trip to Mars.

  11. 11.

    It is important here to note that the necessity for profitability refers to the ex-ante viewpoint. After the accomplishment of the feat, should it be found to have been unprofitable is not the issue at this time, though it may be relevant to follow-up trips.

  12. 12.

    While initially hydrogen appears much more efficient than helium for lift, in fact the advantage is not as great as it seems. The former comes in the form of H2 (atomic weight of 2 for the molecule as opposed to 1 for the atom). Thus, the density of helium (atomic weigh of 4) is only twice as great. Furthermore, lifting capacity is more related to the amount of displaced air. It is directly proportional to the difference between the weight of air (1.2 grams per liter) minus that of the gas filling the balloon (0.18 g/l for helium and 0.09 g/l for hydrogen), not that of the filling gas. If certain operational limitations could be overcome, hydrogen would be more efficient by only 0.09%. Incidentally, Luftschiffbau Zeppelin, GmbH was forced to use hydrogen in its airships because the U.S. government was hording helium for military reasons. For more on hydrogen vs. helium see UOH (2002). In other words, improving the purity of the He and the effectiveness of the membrane could make the former nearly as good as H2. Joke: The economist was asked: “How is your wife?” Came the answer: “Compared to what?” The same response is apposite here. Yes, the Zeppelin was problematic compared to a modern jet plane, but not to a horse and buggy.

  13. 13.

    Zubrin refers to them as “Battlestar Galactica,” a massive fictional spaceship from the future (p. 2).

  14. 14.

    Page 59. This by the way is what the authors of this present book mean when we suggest that much of what the state tries to accomplish in space resembles a highschool sports match.

  15. 15.

    If it were really a private operation, it would undoubtedly be even cheaper than $55 billion. By comparison, this amount would buy about 163 F22 Rapters.

  16. 16.

    The Venusian facts listed herein are taken or derived from Choi , C. 2014a.

  17. 17.

    Mercury is much closer to the sun than Venus; so, it should be hotter should it not? Since the former has no significant atmosphere with which to retain its heat, it is actually cooler: about 450o C or 840o F on the day side and −170o C or −275o F on the night side (Choi 2014b). For more on this, see the discussion in this chapter below.

  18. 18.

    To keep the air from compressing and sinking to an elevation too low for human health, the colony would most likely need either a rigid structure like a Zeppelin or a second balloon compartment filled with helium, methane, or ammonia. While the molecular weights of the latter are much greater and less efficient than the first, they may be much easier to obtain.

  19. 19.

    The same effect is observed here on Earth . When one drives to a higher elevation in the mountains, the temperature is found to be much cooler.

  20. 20.

    The Reynolds number is a dimensionless ratio of momentum forces to viscous forces. The number relates to whether gaseous flow over a wing will be laminar or turbulent. For more on this refer to Warhaft 1997.

  21. 21.

    The Mach number is a dimensionless ratio between the velocity of an object moving through a fluid medium and the speed of a compression wave of which the speed of sound in air on Earth is an example. The number relates to whether the flow can be understood as incompressible or not. Generally, at speeds above Mach 1, the gas is effectively incompressible. For further reading on this see Jessa 2010.

  22. 22.

    It might be better if it were in tidal lock (that is where the orbiter has slowed rotation to match the period of revolution about the Sun because of the breaking forces induced by the spin). Then the entire terminator (the line at the edge of sunlight and darkness) would be relatively easy to colonize as the properties described below at the poles would exist for the entire belt.

  23. 23.

    The data in this section is based on Choi 2014b.

  24. 24.

    In an elliptical orbit the perihelion is the phase closest to the Sun. At this point, Mercury moves faster than it rotates; so in a typical day, the Sun appears to rise in the East, proceeds Westerly across the sky, stops and backtracks towards the East, and then after about 90-some hours resumes its Westerly movement. If the Sun rises where one is standing when passing the perihelion, it would then fully set on the same horizon only to soon rise again. Its antonym, aphelion, refers to the point farthest away (Rao 2015).

  25. 25.

    The “atmosphere” is constantly blown away by the solar wind but is replenished by material from that very same wind, radioactive decay of its crust, and bombardment of micro-meteors. It consists mostly of oxygen, sodium, and hydrogen with some helium and other elements (Choi 2014b).

  26. 26.

    A solar sail is a large sheet-like structure resembling an airfoil but reacting to the solar wind. The size means that the force required to retain its form would necessitate a substantial structure (Light Sail n.d.).

  27. 27.

    Here we refer not to a killer from the future but to the dividing line on a planet between night and day.

  28. 28.

    Most likely this would occur many years in the future, with a vastly improved technology.

  29. 29.

    For a scaled chart of visual images of the known moons of the solar system refer to Dark Government n.d. For a description of features of the larger objects in that chart refer to Pink 2015. Data in this section related to the density and gravitational attraction of these moons is based on this article. For a tongue-in-cheek egalitarian analysis of the moons of the solar system, see Block 2014.

  30. 30.

    This statement and most of the comments in this sub-section refer to the Mars-sized moons of the outer planets. For tiny celestial bodies around Mars, like Phobos and Deimos, much of the discussion about asteroids in Chap. 9 applies.

  31. 31.

    About 60% of Ganymede’s surface is more brilliant than the darker portions which are marked by significant numbers of impact craters. The more extensive lighter surfaces are known to be more recent because of the relative lack of such impacts. It is marked with ridges that are theorized to stem from tectonic activity and tidal forces (Kramer 2015).

  32. 32.

    Jovian moon discovered by Galileo Galilei.

  33. 33.

    The least radiation, especially when in conjunction with reduced tidal heating, also means that there is less heat available. This fact could mean that this moon is less suitable to host life than Ganymede.

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  1. PL Nelson Engineering Inc., Lakewood, CO, USA

    Peter Lothian Nelson

  2. Loyola University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Walter E. Block

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Nelson, P.L., Block, W.E. (2018). The Inner Planets and Extra-Terrestrial Moons. In: Space Capitalism. Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74651-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74651-7_7

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