Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Who Knows What Might Be Found When Visiting A Metal Asteroid?
NASA's Psyche mission to a metal world!
Who knows what might be found when visiting a metal asteroid?
— Bill Christensen (@Technovelgy) August 28, 2023
"The ten passengers and the other four living members of the Galluris crew boiled forward to inspect the tiny speck of matter that swam toward them out of the bottomless void. Perhaps they could make contact with the… https://t.co/2TYarQF4LX
"The ten passengers and the other four living members of the Galluris crew boiled forward to inspect the tiny speck of matter that swam toward them out of the bottomless void. Perhaps they could make contact with the several cubic miles of chill rock and metal and manage to free some frozen oxygen to replenish their own dwindling supply. Here at least would be a place to repair the sheared-off rocket jets with asteroid metal utilized to encase the heat-resistant troxodite of the jets’ inner surfaces."("The Metal Slug", Basil Wells, 1942)
"At last he brought the projectile down upon a vast, sun-drenched “metal asteroid”. Being so small, in comparison to a full-sized planet, the horizon seemed absurdly near, cutting off sharp against a backdrop of icily glittering stars.
For a long time the three stood gazing through the observation window. Now they had actually landed on the inexplicable object they could see clearly that it was not all one solid piece but built in sections — gigantic curved plates grooved and socketed and welded into one another with supreme engineering genius."
(The New Satellite, Vargo Statten, 1951)
The wonderful Fifties writer E.C. Tubb wrote about asteroid metal in his classic 1958 novel The Mechanical Monarch:
"We can get our water from the pole, our food from the yeast vats, our building materials from the oxidized minerals in the sand... We can even fuel the space ships and mine the Asteroid Belt for rare metals..."Lars raised himself on one elbow. "As things are now we depend on Earth to buy our asteroid-metal and supply things we can't do without."
@Technovelgy has many more references to science-fictional descriptions of mining asteroids - even in the 1800's! See asteroid mining from Edison's Conquest of Mars (1898) by Garrett P. Serviss, asteroid mining (blasting) from Asteroid of Gold (1932) by Clifford Simak, the meteor miner from Salvage in Space (1933) by Jack Williamson, asteroid claim law from Jurisdiction (1941) by Nat Schachner, space placers from The Day We Celebrate (1941) by Nelson S. Bond, the asteroid mining robot from Catch That Rabbit (1944) by Isaac Asimov the coal mole from The Web Between the Worlds (1979) by Charles Sheffield, and the asteroid mine from Love Among the Robots (1946) by Emmett McDowell.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/21/2023)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" ")
Space Exporers! Now, You Can Drink Your Own Urine
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...' - Frank Herbert, 1965.
Who Knows What Might Be Found When Visiting A Metal Asteroid?
'...inspect the tiny speck of matter that swam toward them out of the bottomless void.' - Basil Wells, 1942.
StoryFile To Help William Shatner Become Landru
"I am Landru. I am he! All that he was, I am." Gene Roddenberry, 1967.
DNA Controls Swarms Of Molecular Robots
'They exist in loose swarms...' - Stanislaw Lem, 1954.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
Heat Waver - The First Ever Combo Solar Collector And Wind Turbine
'...like a spray of tulips mounted fanwise.'
Tesla 'Fleet Response Agents' Bolster FSD Autonomy
'You hate the whole idea that some bored drone pusher in a remote driving centre has got your life... in his hands.'
Mori3 Autonomous Shapeshifting Robot
'My homeland is being threatened by the Replicators. Thus far all attempts to stop them have failed.'
Tesla Seeks 'Tesla Robotaxi' And 'Robobus' Trademarks Ignoring Prior Art
'A robobus had just rolled up to the curb.'
Scary Grid Safety Robots
'The ultimate horror for our paranoid culture...'
Does AI Provide A Way Forward For Talk Therapy
'And there in the next room by the sofa sat a familiar suitcase, that of his psychiatrist Dr. Smile.'
