Ceres is the Future
To: The International Planetary Settlement, Exploration, Sciences and Protocol Office
From: Evan
Ceres is the Future
As a society we have to keep the human race alive. In the future there will probably be an extinction event where the Earth will be destroyed and everyone would be killed on Earth. If we have humans on other astronomical bodies, we could keep the human race alive. We also need a place to go on vacation in the solar system. We need to go to the dwarf planet Ceres because it is close, it has ice that could lead to drinking water or fuel, and it has important natural resources to make a self-sustaining civilization.
We should go to Ceres because it is close to Earth. Ceres is the largest object in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter. Additionally, Ceres is only 1.8 AUs away from the Earth. This trip to Ceres could take 6 months to a year to get there. Being close is important because it makes the trip take less time and the trip needs less fuel. If we were to go to a far astronomical body away from the sun, it would be very cold while Ceres’ average surface temperature is -73 degrees Celsius. The heat would be far more livable than if you were to go further in the solar system.
Next, Ceres should be colonized because it has ice, which can lead to drinking water, fuel, and many more necessities. Most astronomical bodies do not have ice or any type of water however, Ceres is rare and has lots of water in the form of ice. This dwarf planet is made up of about 25% water. That is a higher percentage than Earth’s! This ice, when melted, can turn into water, which is important for every part of creating a colony in space. Water is important to astronauts because if they don’t have drinking water, they wouldn’t survive. The water could also be used to grow plants to eat to have a sustainable food source. To have oxygen to breathe, we can take the oxygen from H2O and use that to breathe for space suits and to indoor structures. Without utilizing the oxygen in water, we would run out of it and die. Finally, we need the water to create rocket fuel. To create rocket fuel, we need hydrogen and oxygen. Without rocket fuel, we could not make it back home and would die.
Furthermore, Ceres could be a place for ships to stop for fuel or a stop for materials when traveling throughout the solar system. When we colonize Ceres we would create a space colony where we can create fuel and mine materials. Making this space station would be important for space exploration because we need a lot of fuel to go far. We couldn’t take all the fuel while exiting the Earth and need to refill at Ceres.
The colonization of Ceres is an important first step to an interplanetary species. Ceres would also be a great place for fun. The gravitational force is 1/30 of Earth’s gravity. It would be really fun to bounce in space. You could also create new sports that require a lot of floating. If you could jump 1m high on Earth, you could jump 30m high on Ceres. Also, your weight would be one-thirtieth of what it is right now on Earth. That would be a great weight loss program!
