While Pluto has captured the public's imagination, as it should, it's a spectacular mission, the Ceres mission has held great interest for me.<br><br>I'm a martian tera-formation enthusiast and I find the idea of having a small planetary body with a very stable low gravity, a composition that could readily support Martian atmospheric modification AND is almost right next door, terribly exciting. <br><br>An Orion type of project (NOT the wimpy one NASA's working on now but the original one from the 60's) could place several manned and/or automated bases on Ceres whose purpose would be to mine Ceres (or some other minor planets) and export materials to the martian atmosphere to set off an extended atmospheric warming and thickening cycle on Mars. Magnetic rail guns could be used to precisely launch the mined material towards Mars. <br><br>No new inventions needed except that manufacturing several kilo-scores of sub-kiloton A bombs might not go over so well with the public and anti-proliferation groups.<br><br>Jeff