One step backwards (Step zero)

Hi, I'm new to the group and just becoming familiar with the flow, so forgive me if I'm rehashing subjects from long ago. It seems to me that the Near Earth Asteroids are the resource we should be pursuing. The NEO's and the Earth Crossing asteroids present opportunities for both capture for use in mining/manufacturing and settlement, as well as several opportunities to settle a rock that travels between the orbit of Earth and Mars or even farther out. Many of these rocks are very solid (response to previous post as to fragility) and could be cored or tunneled and spun for simulated gravity. Air could likely be produced by processing the materials removed during conversion to habitat (most asteroids have at least some oxides in their makeup), by processing other carbonaceous chondrites or by cometary capture without recourse to dipping into a gravity well. If we HAD to get air and water from luna, it would best be accomplished using O'neils mass driver and capturing the mass at one of the L Points, NOT by utilizing any form of lifter. A cored asteroid has the benefit of providing its own radiation shielding, and, in the case of a good size rock, being greatly expandable for population increase while at the same time remaining accessible sans gravity at the spin axis. Thoughts?...
Victor Smith

From: Joe Strout
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2010 9:45 AM
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [spacesettlers] Re: : One step backwards (Step zero)

sraj wrote:

> Unfortunately much of the fault lies with the scientific and engineering
> community. Look how long they have taken to find out that there is water on
> the Moon!?

That had more to do with politics than science or engineering. After
the cancellation of the Apollo program, there was a "Moon taboo" that
basically made it impossible to get funding for any lunar research.
Lunar Prospector only managed to get there by using alternative funding
sources. (It's been a few years and I've grown fuzzy on the details --
does anyone here remember more clearly?)

> Just as our scientists on terra firma are busy doing all kinds of
> scientific stuff, even as our planet gasps for breath; in space too they are
> busy taking pretty pictures of the universe (not that we don't need these
> pretty pictures), even as they ignore the importance of human presence in
> space.

They're not ignoring it, but space R&D is expensive and mostly
government-funded, so they're subject to the whims of politics.

Lifting the Moon taboo was one of the two decent things to come out of
the Bush presidency.

Best,
- Joe