carbon-nanotube-cable
A key technological innovation is the production of a massive carbon nanotube cable, whose extraordinary strength enables the construction of a space elevator.
1 chapter across 1 book
Green Mars (1994)Kim Stanley Robinson
This chapter details the transformation of the Amor asteroid 2034 B into New Clarke, a massive industrial complex that constructs a carbon nanotube cable to establish a space elevator on Mars. Over many years, robotic factories extract resources, build infrastructure, and use rockets and mass drivers to adjust the asteroid's orbit, eventually capturing it in Mars orbit and deploying the cable down to the planet's surface. The completed space elevator significantly reduces the energy cost of space travel to and from Mars, symbolizing a major technological and logistical advancement for Martian colonization.