A group of researchers from the Finnish Meteorological Institute proposed a permanent "megasatellite settlement" orbiting https://interestingengineering.com/strange-spots-found-on-dwarf-planet-ceres-in-final-round-of-nasa-craft">Ceres, a huge asteroid and dwarf planet in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The enormous human habitat could act as a base for further exploration of the cosmos and could be built using materials mined from Ceres itself, Futurism reports.
Fans of the popular https://interestingengineering.com/science-fiction-ideas-and-technologies-that-could-be-possible-in-the-distant-future">sci-fi novel and TV series "The Expanse" will be no strangers to the concept of a human habitat orbiting Ceres. The fictional universe of the show and novel revolves around humanity's first off-world colony, Ceres Station, orbiting the dwarf planet.
In an example of reality imitating fiction, researchers proposed a megastructure orbiting Ceres, citing the dwarf planet's abundance of nitrogen, a substance that could enable the creation of an Earth-like atmosphere.
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