Whether the Astrium system will remain a specialised novelty or will be the forerunner of something more like the cosmicpower stations of Asimov's imagination is anybody's guess.
"As the most precise measurement of the cosmic ray positron flux to date, these results show clearly the power and capabilities of the AMS detector, " Ting said, according to the CERN statement.
Formal religion, meanwhile, is supposed to have appeared only after agriculture produced such hierarchical social relations as required a cosmic backstory to keep them going and supplied a template for the power relationship between gods and mortals.
With light and power sorted, the next challenge would be protecting green houses from cosmic radiation, micro-meteorites and other dangers presented by the absence of an atmosphere.