Once the explosives have broken up the rock (if it was not loose enough already), some types of shovel would be placed at one end of the debris pile, then reeled in (from a strongly anchored position), pulling its load into, for example, the solar oven. Methods of digging and mining on Deimos are pure speculation right now. Undoubtedly, the colonists will have to discover for themselves, through trial and error and simple hard work, what methods are most efficient despite our best analytical efforts beforehand. (Note: To prevent the formation of a cloud of debris in co-orbit with Deimos, all surface blasting will include the use of an anchored net or sheet to direct the deposition of debris). The initial Deimos Base is shown in Fig. 6. Metal Production. Deimos is believed to contain iron (as magnetite at 30% to 35% by weight) and nickel (as nickel sulfide at 1.6% to 1.8% by weight) [14]. By heating these compounds in the presence of carbonaceous surface material, they will be reduced to, among other things, metal and carbon monoxide. When exposed to carbon monoxide gas at a pressure of 1 to 100 atmospheres and at a temperature of 100 degrees C, iron and nickel (along with some other metals) will
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==