12-23-2014, 07:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-23-2014, 07:34 PM by stevebowers.)
The place to start would be above the atmosphere altogether. A space station in Venus orbit could be useful as a location for colllecting carbon, oxygen and nitrogen skimmed from the top of Venus' atmosphere, without needing to venture into the clouds. Solar-powered skimmers could extract the atmosphere using sustainable energy, and the result would be a significant reserve of carbon, oxygen and nitrogen in Venus orbit. CNO are three of the four most important elements required for sustaining life. Note that the Moon is deficient in nitrogen and carbon, so Venus' excess could be exported to the Moon using solar-powered freighters.
A strategy like this could benefit from fairly mature assembler technology, since the carbon could be used to construct infrastructure in situ; but of course many projects in space suddenly become both feasible and desirable once this sort of tech is available.
A strategy like this could benefit from fairly mature assembler technology, since the carbon could be used to construct infrastructure in situ; but of course many projects in space suddenly become both feasible and desirable once this sort of tech is available.