I want to get this idea out there.
The main idea is that alien civilizations would first explore planetary systems with drones. The DOD says they've observed these things that look a lot like drones, and let's say the possibility exists that they are extra-solar, although they might well be the product of some shadow government project. In any case they are capable of high-g accelerations and are not likely to contain biological entities piloting the crafts.
Now, stepping back, let's say a craft entered the solar system, drone or otherwise. After the deceleration into solar orbit, which would drain fuel, the first step would be to find icy bodies and refuel. The direct way would be to look at gas giant moons, which have lots of ice, if our solar system is a model, but orbiting them would require going way down into a gravitational potential well. It would make much more sense to head to the Jupiter Lagrangian points where similar bodies can be expected to be found, without having to expend more fuel to get to. The Trojan asteroids in the Jupiter Lagrangian points would be excellent candidates for a refueling stop. Most asteroids are rocky, but we believe that some are icy bodies with a regolith that chokes off outgassing. So the craft would then mine the water for fuel and other needs.
So, the Jupiter Lagrangian points may well harbor something interesting. Looking at the Trojan asteroids is the purpose of NASA's Lucy mission, which launched in 2021.
Submitted October 07, 2022 at 01:22PM by Boredom_Fuji https://ift.tt/rNySD8f
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