A
alpha_taur1
Guest
Here's a crazy idea to think about. It depends largely on confirmation that Phobos has a high volatile content, but here goes: First establish a base on Phobos, anchoring it to the satellite itself. Establish a factory to process the volatiles into useable commodities for the station. <br /><br />Preliminary indications are that both Phobos and Deimos contain ice, organic substances, including nitrogen rich amino acids. <br /><br />Next comes the crazy half baked part. Using solar energy (Both direct and indirect, we manufacture large quantities of propellant which we store in liquefied tanks. <br /><br />We then build a large engine into Deimos, being the smaller of the two and the easier to move, and gradually nudge it out of Mars orbit and into an elliptical orbit around the sun that intercepts both the orbit of Mars and the orbit of Earth.<br /><br />When Deimos passes by Earth, synchronise so that an Earth orbiting satellite matches the approximate speed of Phobos. Use the orbital velocity of the Earth and the satellite to get optimal velocity match.<br /><br />Hop on to Deimos. Wait until Deimos gets to Mars then 'hop' on to Phobos. <br /><br />Ok, you don't get something for nothing, and orbital perturbation as a result of both the Earth and Mars would need substantial correction. <br /><br />Please feel free to knock this idea as is customary <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />