In the TV Series "The Expanse", in the first episode, about 12 minutes in, we see the ice trawler Canterbury collecting large pieces of ice as cargo, to ship them to Ceres.
The collecting work is done by drones and cranes.
Why do they even load the ice into a ship, instead of shipping it right away with the use of the drones all the way to Ceres?
I guess this would be much more cost effective, let alone less dangerous.
The authors actually addressed exactly this in another interview (well, a reddit AMA) today:
Q: To the extent that your books about the future reflect the times we're living in now, they are provocative and fascinating and an awesome read. What sorts of things that happen in the expanse do you really think will happen in the future, and what sorts of things are a reflection of our time and maybe you don't really think will work out that way? Will we always be at war with each other? Will there always be religion? Most importantly to me, do you really think the food will suck? I feel great sympathy every time someone has to drink crappy fungus-based whiskey. I'm kind of hoping we figure out how to make test-tube proteins and hydroponic vegetables taste good.
A: As long as we are recognizably human we'll have war and religion, I think. Space mining is more likely to be robots rather than people, but mining robots are harder to make into compelling characters. I think by the time we have to make fungal whisky, we won't be thinking about how gross that is.
The Expanse isn't hard science fiction where everything has to be scientifically explained, understood or even be based on real physics.
OB - Leviathan Wakes (the first book in The Expanse series) has a gritty and realistic feel. How much research did you do on the technology side of things, and how important was it to you that they be realistic and accurate?
JC - Okay, so what you’re really asking me there is if this is hard science fiction. The answer is an emphatic no. I have nothing but respect for well written hard science fiction, and I wanted everything in the book to be plausible enough that it doesn’t get in the way. But the rigorous how-to with the math shown? It’s not that story. This is working man’s science fiction.
It’s like in Alien, we meet the crew of the Nostromo doing their jobs in this very blue collar environment. They’re truckers, right? Why is there a room in the Nostromo where water leaks down off of chains suspended from the ceiling? Because it looks cool and makes the world feel a little messy. It gives you the feel of the world. Ridley Scott doesn’t explain why that room exists, and when most people watch the film, it never even occurs to them to ask. What kind of drive does the Nostromo use? I bet no one walked out of the film asking that question. I wanted to tell a story about humans living and working in a well populated solar system. I wanted to convey a feeling for what that would be like, and then tell a story about the people who live there.
