1) ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION
On 8. of March 819 A.S. around 13:00 Sol hours Guild Master Takeshi Ogawa of the Independent Miners Guild sent a message using S.K.Y.P.3 protocol in the Research and Exploration channel about the need for a survey in Omega 3 as the Guild wants to claim a minable Cobalt field there. Because I had other project ongoing at that time and had to study for exams, I didn't take the assignment right away.
On 24. of March 819 A.S. around 23:00 hours this survey was completed and on 25. of March 819. A.S. this report was compiled.
The assignment was to survey the Omega 3 system. No specific area was chosen, the assignment only mentioned a minable Cobalt field in the aformentioned system.
2) [color=#CC6600]ABSTRACT (O)
This survey was conducted using the "Uruz" battle transporter equipped with standard surveying, probing and extraction equipment without plating modifications as there were no hazards specific to Omega 3. This survey was less dangerous then the previous ones as star radiation proved to be minimal and the system enjoys a low volume of unlawful traffic. Carl Ostermann accompanied me on this expedition, but even up to this day I have no idea who he is or why Mr Ogawa suggested we mount a joint expedition as he failed to identify himself properly and had conflicting statements. Regardless, the whole Omega 3 system was surveyed consisting of five field and a single anomaly which became the main focus of my survey as it containes the cobalt Mr Ogawa was talking about.
3) [color=#CC6600]PREPARATION (O)
Using both S.K.Y.P.3 and standard IMG encryption protocols, I contacted Mr Ostermann who responded well within the time frame of 12 hours and said he will come in a heavy fighter class vessel to assist me with the surveying. Having no idea how all the surveying equipment could fit into such a small ship, I didn't ask too many question hoping that his expertise which he described as „ interest in Astronomy and nanotechnology“ will help me in the survey. Despite being puzzled by his reply, I continued to Omegas traveling through independent systems which went excellent without a single bump along the way. After arriving I landed on Freeport 1 to contact scientists from Ames Research Station in Kepler who assisted me with the previous two surveys and told them that I'll transmit the raw data via encrypted channels for analysis. Because they are still my employees who I hired for a period of one month, they accepted the job on their last day of employment grumbling. After establishing a connection with them, I left the Freeport and began my survey.
4) [color=#CC6600]PROCESS (O)
After downloading the map of Omega 3 I visited all the asteroid fields and surveyed the central area of each, taking careful notes about my relative position to the nearest known object such as a station. After arriving in the central area, I took mass measurements as well as rock samples to identify the asteroids' minerals. Daumann's personnel on Rugen didn't mind me surveying the Roth Asteroid Field, but BMM personnel on Douglas did, so they attempted to scare me away with turret fire after I told them I'm conducting a survey on Coombe Asteroid Field. After being in dark matter and electric discharging storms this was a laugh, as they didn't penetrate even half the shield which the aforementioned storms could bypassed completely. My next destination was the Graham Ice Field which was near the Cambridge jump gate. I feared Jokerz might attack me as they have been sighted in the area quite often, but all went well and after sampling the area I went to Burgess Ice Field near the Freeport. There I stopped and uploaded the data I've already gathered after which I took a sample from the center of the field. Last stop was the Wilkes Ice Field in which Aland Shipyard was located, infamous as Hessian staging area for attacks in Omegas. Thankfully, no ships expect for a few border world transport vessels were sighted. Once I finished surveying near Aland, I continued to view the anomaly near the Omega's star which happened to be a stray comet. After probing the surface, extracting a sample and evaluating the mass I went back to the Freeport to upload the data while taking a beating in the process as the star's radiation damaged the plating.
5) [color=#CC6600]RESULTS (O)
A) [color=#CC6600] Roth Asteroid Field
Roth is the „shorter straw“ by being less abundant with hydrocarbon compounds and having asteroids with dense thick covering layer. Large clusters of asteroids are present within the field with the exception of a cleared space around the Daumann's Rugen Station. Asteroids are filled with different alkane, alkene, alkyne, cycloalkane and alkadiene compounds, but most of them are covered by a layer of thick dense rock layer which makes it hard to penetrate without proper mining equipment. That has it's upsides however, one of them being that unregistered miners are discouraged to mine in the field.
B) Coombe Asteroid Field
Coombre in the „longer straw“ by being having more hydrocarbon compounds beneath the asteroids' rock layer. The field is also larger then the Roth Field, but I was unable to determine by what volume as BMM personal didn't wish to share such information. Nevertheless, I was able to evaluate that mining the asteroids in this field yields far more hydrocarbon not only because of less dense rock layers covering the asteroids, but also because the asteroids are much larger, therefore having more minerals within them then those in Roth Field.
C) Graham Ice Field
The field which houses the jump gate to Cambridge is full of water in it's solid state. It also has some gases, but due to being far away from the star, the gas expands very slowly and is masked by all the hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Mining in this area would yield large amounts of water and some gas, but the gas yield is far too low to be profitable.
D) Burgess Ice Field
Freeport 1 is on the edges of said field and is filled with water in it's solid state. Sample extraction showed no gas which indicates that all the hydrogen and oxygen atoms formed water molecules making this a very old field, more so then the previous one. Freeport 1 is constantly supplied with fresh water without any minerals by mining this field, but extensive mining wouldn't yield enough water per asteroid to cover the fuel expenses.
E) Wilkes Ice Field
The last of five fields, this one is very like the Burgess Ice Field in both contents and density. I've heard rumors on Aland Shipyard which is located inside the field that Hessians used it to stage attacks on rest of Omegas, but now it's empty as they have retreated to their diamond yielding fields.
F) Anomalies and hazards
A single anomaly was encountered in Omega 3 which might be the reason why I was sent there to conduct the expedition. A comet called „Cross-Vandermeer“ named after Johan Vandermeer, a physicist who predicted that the comet will pass through Omega 3 due to the gravitational anomaly known as the Baxter anomaly, and professor Cross, an astrophysics from Cambridge who failed to make the same prediction, but spotted the comet nevertheless. The comet's trajectory was altered due to Baxter anomaly as predicted and it grazed the Roth Asteroid Field after which it settled into the star's low orbit. The asteroid has a few layers, first being a mix of ice and gas which is melting quickly due to it's close proximity to the star. The second layer is a mix of rock and light metals, which we should be able to penetrate with our standard mining equipment. The third layer consists of both light and heavy metals, which is the richest layer in cobalt and then there is the core composed of only the heaviest metals. The first layer is supposed to be the thickest, but when I took the measurements, it's thickness was reduced severely, so the second layer became thicker then the first. The comet's layers are not clearly defined which indicates the comet is young as metals within it didn't have the time to sediment properly. It didn't have enough velocity to combat the gravitational pull of the star either, so it was captured and will most likely stay trapped there until it crashes into the sun itself or gains enough momentum to escape the star's grip. The comet also has a large tail in which samples of cobalt can be collected mixed with light metals and water. It is as far as I can tell the only place from where the cobalt can be mined safely, as every other side is affected by radiation.
6) [color=#CC6600]CONCLUSION (O)
It is obvious that the aforementioned comet is a „gold mine“ of cobalt, waiting to be extracted, but I fear there might be some complications. The comet is very close to the star which means it is being heated and irradiated. If the temperature was to reach 1100 degrees Celsius within the core, all the cobalt would loose it's ferromagnetic properties. Thankfully the effect is reversible, but metals would still become searing liquids able to penetrate through protective helmet glass in mere seconds. The comet's stay in the stars's low orbit will eventually destroy the first icy layer, exposing the second layer to the sun which would in turn irradiate the metals within it. I also didn't came across any precise calculations of it's velocity before it entered the star's orbit which would mean it can either crash into into the sun, if the velocity was too low, or escape it, if the comet retained enough momentum. It's rotational speed also worries me as it would mean mining on any other side other then near it's rotary axis would expose the mining crew to the star's radiation for quite some time, forcing them to either hide beneath the surface or conduct short mining operations.
If the comet was shattered, it would create a debris field as large as Roth, with many asteroids filled with pockets of cobalt, but that would require placing a very strong charge on the surface of the asteroid facing towards the star which would push the comet away from it and then placing another charge into the comet's core to shatter it completely. There is also a chance that the comet may hit planet Sprague which would have cataclysmic consequences for both the planet, as it's atmosphere would be polluted by heavy metals, and the comet, which would be destroyed in the process of collision.
Despite all the dangers it presents, there are a number of ways which would overcome them under the assumption the comet will stay in low orbit and doesn't crash into the sun. It would take at least a month until the first icy layer melted and after that, if the metals become irradiated, we could make radiation proof cargo holds which would contain the irradiated ore until the transports unload on a refinery. If the temperature was too high, the ore could be cooled down and it's magmatic properties could then be restored. The rotary speed is also a problem, but it would only affect the speed at which the cobalt is mined, as then the mining teams on the comet's surface would have to evacuate the part exposed to radiation and resume mining on some other side of the comet.
We also shouldn't forget that the comet has it's icy tail from which cobalt could be extracted safely without fears of radiation, extreme heat or strong gravity.
Attention! This report is the property of Mara Arin and cannot be copied, edited or used in any other way unless given a written permission.
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