“In the real world, we haven’t really gotten to this stage where we actually have to design and build missions, so that’s why we need these exercises,” says NASA’s Paul Chodas, who runs many of the role-plays.
Given the relatively easy trip to a minimoon from Earth, some researchers have proposed using these transient satellites as "stepping stones" for future missions to mine asteroids or explore deeper into our solar system.
Once established, the field can act as a booster for lighter ions like hydrogen, giving them enough energy to break free of Earth’s gravity and zoom away as the polar wind.
For instance, a surface covered in the black rock basalt would hint at the presence of volcanoes, like on many planets in our solar system.
