I’ve heard something about that. The obvious problem is mining, but you might be able to largely get around that by making everything you can out of plastic. It’s just hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, sulfer, and nitrogen, all of which exist in the atmosphere.
The sulfur dioxide could be problematic, but according to this website I found with google polyethylene is totally resistant to 60% pure sulfuric acid, and partially resistant to 98% pure. I don’t think a little sulfur dioxide in the air would be a problem.
You are going to need other elements for some stuff occasionally. Perhaps you can mine dust.
You are going to need other elements for some stuff occasionally. Perhaps you can mine dust.
The impression I get from reading it is that he figures either teleoperated mining robots, or mining the asteroids; he spends more than a little time on discussing the great leaps in robotics, and then in claiming that a Venus colony is, from the point of view of orbital mechanics, almost as good as actual asteroid colonies for traveling to & exploiting asteroids.
Seems to me like Mars is probably the best colony world. Much fewer engineering problems, I think. And IIRC Martian soil consists primarily of iron ore. Plus way more water.
Teleop mining robots? That place kills our probes and I don’t think they even have many moving parts. What about some kind of bucket chain?
Well, I never said that they seemed like a good idea to me. (It’s personally hard to think of scenarios in which Venus-proof robots could be economical—unless the asteroids and other rocky planets/moons have all been tapped out, which is far-future enough that I don’t care.) That’s just what he seems to think.
I’ve heard something about that. The obvious problem is mining, but you might be able to largely get around that by making everything you can out of plastic. It’s just hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, sulfer, and nitrogen, all of which exist in the atmosphere.
The sulfur dioxide could be problematic, but according to this website I found with google polyethylene is totally resistant to 60% pure sulfuric acid, and partially resistant to 98% pure. I don’t think a little sulfur dioxide in the air would be a problem.
You are going to need other elements for some stuff occasionally. Perhaps you can mine dust.
The impression I get from reading it is that he figures either teleoperated mining robots, or mining the asteroids; he spends more than a little time on discussing the great leaps in robotics, and then in claiming that a Venus colony is, from the point of view of orbital mechanics, almost as good as actual asteroid colonies for traveling to & exploiting asteroids.
Seems to me like Mars is probably the best colony world. Much fewer engineering problems, I think. And IIRC Martian soil consists primarily of iron ore. Plus way more water.
Teleop mining robots? That place kills our probes and I don’t think they even have many moving parts. What about some kind of bucket chain?
Well, I never said that they seemed like a good idea to me. (It’s personally hard to think of scenarios in which Venus-proof robots could be economical—unless the asteroids and other rocky planets/moons have all been tapped out, which is far-future enough that I don’t care.) That’s just what he seems to think.