Icy-Conclusion-3500 t1_jd5hl5t wrote on March 21, 2023 at 11:40 PM

Reply to comment by Majestic_Pitch_1803 in Couldn’t we land on an asteroid that is passing through our solar system and use that as a vessel for interstellar travel? by [deleted]

If that asteroid has enough velocity to escape orbit, the lander would have to reach that velocity as well. Basically nullifies any gains of landing on it.

Majestic_Pitch_1803 t1_jd5iqsd wrote on March 21, 2023 at 11:49 PM

I believe there being no other benefits is untrue. Such a body carries water, metals etc. Regolith, couldn’t that be used as a soil like substrate for some kind of farming? Even if not, the terrain itself could still be used to provide the space for farming, processing of materials and manufacturing tasks. Maybe the initial craft never launches with a telescope but manufactures one on-board the asteroid. Perhaps a small scale human colony? Inside the asteroid, protected from at least some radiation?