Humanity's first effort at moving a planet

What technology will humanity use the first time it moves a planet?

In the near-ish future, humanity has colonized Mars which has since become self-sustaining and independent, as well as various other solar system bodies. The asteroid belt is a principal source of resources, and a mature infrastructure exists for prospecting and mining, and of course delivering materials to colonies where they are consumed.

In a treaty that seeks not just to redraw lines on a map but reshape the map itself, the King of Ceres has formed a union with the Federated Republics of Mars, and this is to include physically relocating Dwarf Planet Ceres to become Mars' Moon!

This is politically brilliant, as the rest of the Belt, rather than being sore at the loss of a major piece of territory, is more excited about how much money they will make from contracts related to humanity's first megaproject.

The orbit injection must occur within 30 years (but shaping of the orbit may continue beyond that time).

How might this be accomplished? What technology (available to the described civilization) could be used? Please broadly describe the way the plan would work out.

The specific engine technologies available to them is the answerer's choice. It should be something forseeable today as real science without breakthrough physics. (So, no emdrive, no anti-gravity, no telekinesis, no negative matter.)

This post is the result of this lesson.

See also: The energy requirement of changing planets' orbits has been discussed previously.

Here are some rocket engines, with numbers, food for thought and common vocabulary. However, don't limit yourself to only rockets!

posted almost 7 years ago

JDługosz‭

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