How Might Asteroids be Colonized?
Since the mid-20th century, space enthusiasts and visionaries have looked to the asteroids as possible colonization sites. There are an estimated ten billion asteroids greater than 100 meters in diameter, and their combined surface area is much greater than that of the Earth. The largest asteroid, Ceres, has a surface area comparable to that of central Europe. The 32 largest asteroids are each 200 km or greater in diameter. There are an additional 100 billion asteroids between 10 and 100 meters in diameter. Many of these contain millions or billions of dollars worth of valuable resources. It was Isaac Asimov who first suggested hollowing out asteroids prior to settling them. Unlike certain celestial bodies, for instance, Luna, some asteroids contain substantial carbon and volatiles such as water, both of which are necessary to sustain life. A hollowed-out asteroid would have an natural shield (the surface) to block out dangerous cosmic rays and micrometeorites, and if it could be spun
