I'm sure that De Beers is thinking about how to keep folks from wanting to exploit THAT particular resource.
However, even provided we could even GET there, our only hope of mining anything on the planet would rely on that planet being tidally locked to the star, and us being able to descend/ascend in a straight line, perpendicular to the planet's surface. And given t hat it's 8 times the mass of the Earth, an "at rest" state would already be experiencing 8g's, so taking off "straight up" would require nearly
ten times that much force in acceleration (I'm figuring 70-75g's, or there about), just to take off. sounds just a little SciFi, right now, though it's fun to think about.
This would depend on the density of the planet and therefore how close you are to the center. Assuming similar or greater density to Earth 5-8g is not unreasonable though.
All you need is constant acceleration to lift of. It could be done from Earth at 1.1g but would take ages and lots of fuel. Typically, from Earth, they take off at 3-5g (upto 7-10 for unmanned) so as to use less fuel and not to kill/cripple the passengers. Again, this depends on your V
c or V
e you wish to obtain (c=circular (in orbit) e=escape velosity). For Earth, V
c is typically 17,000MPH and V
e is 25,000MPH.
Soooo, if 5g with a radius of 5,000 miles (Earth is 4,000), V
e would be 63,000MPH. Or a lot of fuel. But if we managed to get there, then I doubt that would be a problem. The 5g on the planet would be, like, heavy man. But nothing a warp bubble couldn't stop.
Also, the article says...
"In fact, the planet, dubbed 55 Cancri e, appears to have no water at all. And as much as one-third of the planet‘s substantial mass
could be made of diamond" (my italics). They are, basically, guessing.
Diamond planet Astronomy & Near Earth Phenomena
