Super-Earths in need for Extremly Big Rockets
Popular Physics
2018-04-05 v2 Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Abstract
Many rocky exoplanets are heavier and larger than Earth, so-called "Super-Earths". Some of these may be habitable, and a few may be inhabited by Super-Earthlings. Due to the higher surface gravity on these worlds, space-flight is much more challenging. We find that chemical rockets still allow for escape velocities on Super-Earths up to 10x Earth mass. Much heavier rocky worlds, if they exist, will require using up most of the planet as chemical fuel for the (one) launch, a rather risky undertaking. We also briefly discuss launching rockets from water worlds, which requires Alien megastructures.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1803.11384,
title = {Super-Earths in need for Extremly Big Rockets},
author = {Michael Hippke},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1803.11384},
year = {2018}
}