What would an asteroid base look like and how would it operate?

For the sake of simplicity, my species is similar to humans but far more advanced. We will also assume that they live in a solar system similar to ours, and that they are advanced enough that they can 'catch' an asteroid and land on it.

These people wish to create a research base which orbits the sun, not the earth. To do so, they are planning to build a base on an asteroid. Assuming this asteroid has a similar orbit to the one shown below, what would this research station look like?

People would be transported to the base on rockets, and to get back to 'earth' they would eject a pod while the asteroid is travelling towards the planet and drift back home (again, assuming very advanced technology).

The asteroid they have chosen is large (about 900-1000 km diameter) and is made from a combination of carbon compounds, iron and magnesium silicates, nickel, igneous rock, and ice (all in abundance). Its gravitational field strength is around 1/32 of earth's. With an orbit like above, the speeds and temperatures on the surface would be difficult to deal with.

Assuming my race of sentients can land on an asteroid like Ceres, with an orbit similar to Phaethon, what would their asteroid base look like? How would it be operated and what sort of systems would it use? They need to be self-sufficient (produce food) and be able to survive both extremes of the asteroid's orbit. Assume advanced technology, but nothing unrealistic (no time travel, teleportation, or artificial gravity please)

posted about 8 years ago

Aric‭

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