People could live on planet dwarf Ceres, is convinced the physicist and astrobiologist Pekka Janhunen.
It is unlikely that humans will settle outside our solar system in the near future.
But it is possible to go to live on a celestial body inside the system.
Pekka Janhunen, of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, believes that the planet is a dwarf Ceres it could accommodate people in just a few years.
Located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Ceres is known both as the largest asteroid in our solar system (952 kilometers in diameter) and as the only dwarf planet closer to the Sun than Neptune.
Janhunen is convinced that, relatively soon, humans will be able to settle on Ceres with the help of artificial gravity. The essential element of this project is a mega-satellite located in the orbit of the dwarf planet.
According to recent studies, Ceres has a large amount of water below its surface. This could be an asset for colonization.
The expert points out that solar panels could be placed on the surface of the planet. They would power a space elevator to the satellite.
Janhunen appreciates that this device will not be very expensive and easily achievable. Because Ceresare a low surface gravity and a rather high rotational speed.
The expert proposes that the dwarf planet be divided into urban and rural areas, at depths. On the surface, soil between 1.5 and 4 meters thick should be brought. It could allow the planting of trees and other forms of vegetation.
Due to the distance between Ceres and the Sun, mirrors could be used to direct light to the natural habitat of the dwarf planet.
These would allow the cultivation of land, the lighting of Ceres and the production of solar energy.
The mirrors, attached to the disk-shaped satellite, would allow the capture of solar energy.
The Finnish scientist estimates that life on Ceres could be even better than on Earth.
Obviously, for now it’s just speculation. Pekka Janhunen acknowledges that, for now, artificial gravity remains an unrealized goal.
Also, the creation of an artificial satellite and huge mirrors. However, he claims that “the level of difficulty of this project is probably similar to the colonization of Mars.”
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