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Meteoroids in the main asteroid belt
On Jun 4, 3:32 am, Alain Fournier wrote:
Space debris in LEO is somewhat of a problem. But I'm wondering about the space debris problem in the asteroid belt. Let's say we build a mining colony on a main belt asteroid, does anyone k now what kind of hazard meteoroids would be? What would be a typical velocity and at what frequency impacts can be exp ected? Alain Fournier I'd guess that there is a background level throughout the solar system from interstellar particles and comet dust, but that area of space is still very sparse, so meteoroid density should be orders of magnitude less than LEO. I really don't think it would be a problem. Small particles should have been blown out of the way long ago by the solar wind or captured by Jupiter or smaller asteroids, including tiny fragments produced by collisions. The bigger bits still in orbit are unknown, but there should be a statistical relationship between fragment size and frequency, and tendency to be expelled by the solar wind. Only difficult direct measurements over a long time could provide real answers. Asteroid belts are definitely not as portrayed in films for the masses where it's like navigating through a maze.... and I'm thinking of Wall-E too, where satellite density and velocities were thousands of times underportrayed, though I think it made a rather unsubtle point... I think the solar wind would be a greater hazard to any mining colony, but their base would go underground fairly quickly and supplied by energy from solar panels on the surface. |
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