Rationale for Exploring Ceres
Ceres, a dwarf planet discovered in 1801, is the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It has no moons or rings, has a rocky terrain, and is only the size of France. It may sound like a wholly uninteresting planet, but Ceres may be the key to future space exploration. Its earth-like terrain and possible subsurface ocean presents the perfect location for humans’ further steps in space exploration. We chose to explore Ceres because of its location in the universe, surface qualities, and the many materials on the planet.
The further exploration of Ceres could benefit humanity by helping scientists learn more about planets outside of our own. There is evidence of valuable metals and minerals on the surface as proved from orbital scans, and the dwarf planet could make a valuable mining base for humanity in the future (as will be stated later in this article). As of now, Ceres is rather unexplored, with our only exploration being the Dawn probe from a few years ago; and it left us with more questions than answers. So in the future, exploration will be necessary to expose Ceres’ full potential as a human base or mining facility. In the future Ceres could even be used as a refueling outpost for our outbound spacecraft and could benefit humanity greatly in many ways yet to be discovered.
Exploring Ceres is important because as we go farther into space, we will need a base for supplies and resources for astronauts. Ceres has the potential to serve as a perfect place for one, seeing as it is located between Mars and Jupiter. Both planets are places NASA hopes to colonize in the near future. In addition to its ideal placement, Ceres’ earth-like surface also makes it a great location for building headquarters, and or a refueling base. Not only would it serve as a good planet for a refueling base, Ceres contains many valuable materials, metals, and elements. These metals and elements can assist scientists and engineers in creating better and more efficient technology for space exploration.
Turning Ceres into a base or mining colony will most likely make space travel a lot easier and more convenient. Colonizing Ceres is one step closer to humanities domination of the solar system. Ceres’ resources could potentially turn it into a shipyard or a fuel depot. There are a lot of possibilities with what can be done. Ships could stop in for refueling before leaving to go farther into the frontier, we could use Ceres’ resources to build cities on the surfaces of other moons and planets. It could significantly help boost our presence in the solar system and become the first step in our exploration of the far solar system.
In conclusion, Ceres is an important and monumental dwarf planet for the future of space exploration. Many features and aspects of the dwarf planet, when further researched, can aid in getting astronauts and deeper into space for exploration. The dwarf planet Ceres, if utilized to full potential, would be monumental in our exploration of the outer solar system. In the end, Ceres has a lot of potential, and we just will have to wait and see to discover it.