Asteroid use

>
> MW: Processing asteroids-- onsite-- is more expensive
> because you have to transport humans and the
> processing machines there too. Using unmanned
> lightsails to capture and transport small asteroids to
> a central processing area (Mars orbit) makes much more
> economic sense, IMO, because you don't have to
> transport the minining machines or the personal
> evertime you want to process a new asteroid. And it
> really only makes sense to send folks out to the
> largest asteroids such as Ceres. And the solar energy
> needed to process them there would be more expensive
> than the solar energy used in Mars orbit.

Imagine a large ship that transports humans and the processing
machinery. They dock on an asteroid, process the entire rock, put it
into earth crossing orbit, and when completed move to the next rock.

This won't be more expensive then moving small rocks to mars orbit,
processing in mars orbit, then shipping to earth. You will notice the
first step no matter how cheap will be greater than zero.

I want to know why you believe the solar energy in mars orbit is
extrinsically cheaper than a similar space satellite be tugged along
with a ship?

> >
> MW: Most of my asteriod processing employees would be
> working on Mars, remotely operating machines in
> aresynchronos orbit from the marsian surface. Most of
> yours would be working on or near a big rock probably
> in a tin can millions of miles away from any help if
> things should go wrong. And the few employes that I
> would actually have working in Marsian orbit would
> always be close to a manned space station-- also in
> aresynchronos orbit.

Your employee will be living in a tin can on a planet, mine will be
living in a tin can in space? What is the difference. Where do you
expect help to come from anyway? Do you envision millions of people
and dozens of cities on Mars?

>
> It is obvious, IMO, that the small asteroids 1000 to
> 100,000 tonnes in mass will be the easiest ones to
> capture, transport, and to process. And there are
> probably billions of these small asteroids in the
> asteroid belt. And since I'd like to avoid green party
> politics, law suits, and third world country envy, I
> chose to process these small asteroids in Mars orbit
> and to-- cheaply-- transport my finished products-- by
> lightsail-- to the Terra-Luna system.
>
You are precluding moving the rocks themselves to earth orbit because
it is dangerous, but believe moving finished goods are intrinsically
less dangerous to move?

Why?