ESF ALPHA Survey Report
Luyten 726-8 'Route'
February, 2090
Alpha's mission parameters were to survey the three systems extending away from Sol from the hub of Luyten 726-8, and then proceed further in those directions as the situation warranted.
May 2086 - April 2087: Nearly a year was spent in the first system, Epsilon Indi. Tau Ceti was considered to have the best potential of the three systems and so was set to be surveyed last.
Habitability: Good(A-II is a 1.90-cost world, with only a trace atmosphere, right in that Mars/Luna ballpark)
Fuel Availability: Good(A-III, a super jovian, has 16.7mt of sorium at 0.8)
Mineral Wealth: Poor. There are multiple-megaton sources of all minerals, most of it coming from A-I, but almost all at 0.1. Other than a moon with 1.4 mt of 0.6 neutronium, there's really nothing to recommend the system here. There's no need to travel for what can mostly be found on Venus already.
Strategic Importance: Miniscule. With no other jumps found except straight back to Luyten, using the system as a refueling spot is rather pointless.
May 2087 - May 2088 -- Lacaille 9352 was a smaller pattern, but the large number of asteroids meant that the gravsurvey actually beat out the geosurvey by several months.
Habitability: Very Good(A-II is another 1.9 cost world, but has an atmosphere already of appropriate thickness, just a bit more pressure than Earth's. All that would be needed is the addition of oxygen).
Fuel Availability: None. Multiple potential sources ended up barren.
Mineral Wealth: Above average. Like Epsilon Indi all minerals all present in massive amounts of low-accessibility, but there are also some higher-value sites. A-I has 0.4 concentrations of duranium(270mt) and Uridium(155mt). A-II has similar concentrations of those two with the benefit of allowing human-operated mining(lower cost, higher employment). A-III has 2.3mt of boronide at 0.7, and there are multiple interesting moons and dwarves. One has a megaton of 0.9 boronide, another 56kt of duranium and 116kt of vendarite both at high concentrations, a third with 157kt duranium, 95kt mercassium also highly accessible. Yet another has 15mt of 0.5 sorium should it ever be needed industrially. There's enough here to potentially justify either shipping in the needed fuel or mining and refining the sorium, though some minerals like neutronium would likely need to be brought in from elsewhere to support operations.
Strategic Importance: Miniscule. Once again no jumps anywhere but back to Luyten.
June 2088 - May 2089 -- Tau Ceti, the final system off the Luyten 'hub', with the first two leading nowhere.
Habitability: Good. Once again A-II is the best target, a 1.90-cost planet that needs only oxygen added. The atmosphere is thinner than in Lacaille 9352 so it would take somewhat less time to make it breathable.
Fuel Availability: Excellent. It's smaller than most deposits we've found, but based on how long it takes to go through atmospheric sorium that probably won't matter. 416kt on A-V, a gas giant, at a fine 0.9 accessibility.
Mineral Wealth: Miniscule. A-III has 6mt of vendarite at 0.1. That's it, and that's all.
Strategic Importance: High. Three more jumps were discovered, leading to the new systems of
Proxima Centauri,
TZ Arietis, and
Gliese 1. TZ Arietis is the first 'empty' or 'transit' system we've seen: it has no moons, planets, comets, asteroids, nothing. . No bodies of any kind where potential resources could be. It's only possible usefulness is as a system to be traversed on the way to somewhere else. Nevertheless, this is a chokepoint system that could be used as a buffer. Occupying it would place Luyten, Epsilon Indi, and Lacaille 9352 firmly under human control.
June 2089 - November 2089 -- Proxima Centauri was the closest and quickest of the newly-discovered systems. Not much was expected of it, but there was clearly more than enough time to do this survey before returning to Earth.
Habitability: None. There is one planet and asteroids, that's all. The planet's gravity is more than two and a half times Earth's, too massive for any potential colonization effort.
Fuel Availability: None. With only one planet as a terrestrial, there were no sources here.
Mineral Wealth: Subpar. The massive planet has the usual spread that most such bodies seem to: great quantities of nine minerals, all at minimal(0.1) accessibility. Most of the asteroid finds are too small to be worth noticing, but one with 152kt duranium(0.9), 80kt mercassium(1.0), and 147kt vendarite(0.8) bears reporting. Another has six minerals, most in virtual trace amounts of about a kiloton or less, but also 22.5kt corundium(0.9). Overall the picture is still one that doesn't merit major investment.
Strategic Importance: Moderate. Jumps to the new systems of
Procyon and
Kapteyn's Star were discovered. The latter has an exceptionally habitable earth-like planet that is just a little bit too cold, a 0.8 cost, and terraforming could eventually eliminate even that.
Outlook
There were no game-changing, dramatic discoveries on Alpha's journey. A few interesting possibilities, but no must-have systems. Further exploration will be needed before a full assessment of the importance of the 'chokepoint' system in Tau Ceti can be made. There's no hurry in deciding where Alpha will be sent next: after a two-month trip back to Earth and refueling, an overhaul will take likely over a year before they are ready to leave again. By that time ESF Bravo will probably be back with more information.