Aster › Space program › 2 Pallas
2 Pallas
Position on the route: 20/130 · level needed 60 · journey (Mk0 engine) 10.2 h
By the numbers
| Diameter | ≈ 512 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 4.6 years |
| Inclination | ≈ 35° |
| Discovered | 1802, Olbers |
The story
Pallas was the second asteroid discovered, in 1802. It is the third most massive after Ceres and Vesta, about 512 km across on average. Its orbit is tilted 35° to the ecliptic, so spacecraft cannot easily reach it; none has ever passed it.
A fairly dark body, with traces of hydrated minerals seen on its surface. In the game it is one of the belt’s heavyweights: little known but promising for mining.
Missions
- Hubble and ESO imaging
- No spacecraft has visited
Colony note
A mining outpost; weak gravity. Silicate and water-bearing minerals.
What probes bring back
- Found by Olbers in 1802; the third most massive asteroid after Ceres and Vesta, mean diameter ≈512 km.
- Its orbit is tilted 35° to the ecliptic: it swings far out of the belt's plane; no spacecraft has visited.