Transforming an Asteroid into a Space Habitat: A 12-Year Blueprint
A retired Technical Fellow at Rockwell Collins, David W. Jensen, has released a detailed plan in a 65-page paper on how to turn an asteroid into a rotating space habitat. The paper covers asteroid selection, habitat style selection, and mission strategy. Jensen suggests using the Atira asteroid, which is stable in the "Goldilocks zone" of our solar system, and recommends a torus-shaped habitat for artificial gravity. He proposes using self-replicating spider robots and materials from the asteroid itself for construction. The estimated cost of the project is $4.1 billion, and the timeline for completion is estimated at 12 years.