Prospector Vessel

Line Combatants (Primary - Capital)				Escort Combatants (Secondary - Subcapital)				Military Auxiliary (Tertiary)
B- Battleship	C- Cruiser	O- Ortillery	V- Carrier	D- Destroyer	E- Escort	F- Fighter	H- Defense/Security	I- Combat Transport	Q- Combat Support	S- Scout	U- Utility	X- Commo	Z- Special

Mercantile Commercial Ships (Trade & Profit)				Non-Mercantile Commercial Ships (Industry & Profit)					Non-Commercial Ships (Nonprofit)			System Craft (Intrastellar)
A- Tramp	M- Freighter	R- Liner	T- Transport	G- Industrial	J- Prospector	K- Expedition	P- Corsair	U- Utility	L- Science	N- Medical	Y- Private	WB- Barge	WA- Satellite	WO- Space Station

A J-class Prospector Vessel is a specialized vessel that surveys systems for valuable resources.

• Mining missions and vessels will typically follow a successful prospecting find.
• The Supraclass designation is also known as Ship Mission, Ship Mission Code, Mission, or Ship Hull Designation.
• It is a starship supraclass.

Library Data Referral Tree

Please refer to the following AAB Library Data for more information:
Starship:

• Starship User Types
  • Civilian Ship
  • Military Ship
  • Non-Commercial Vessel
  • Paramilitary Ship

• Advanced Ship Classifications
  • Ship Mission Code / Supraclass
  • Ship Type Code / Superclass
  • Ship Class Code / Class
  • Model (TL)
  • Bloc (Lot)

• Basic Ship Classifications
  • Adventure Class Ship
  • Battle Class Ship
  • Capital Ship
  • Fleet Class Ship
  • Size-Role Classification
  • Subcapital Ship
  • QSP
  • USP
  • World Class Ship

• Ships by Function
  • Bigcraft
  • Boat
  • Capital Ship
  • Largecraft
  • Non-starship
  • Smallcraft
  • Spaceplane
  • Spaceship
  • Starship
  • Subcapital Ship
  • Subcraft
  • System Craft
  • Warship

Speed of Travel

• Astronomical Unit (AU)
• FTL
• Light Speed (c)
• Light-week (lw)
• Light-year (ly)
• NAFAL (STL)
• Parsec (pc)

Description (Specifications)

Prospector vessels are an important part of the economy as they do survey work, identify valuable resources, seek out accessible stockpiles, and later redirect significant mining and processing assets to the largest and most promising mineral and/or other valuable resources.

Image Repository

Prospector Vessel - Largecraft and/or Bigcraft:

1. An Arzhent class Prospector/Surveyor.
   
2. A Kteiroa class Seeker on route to potential resource-rich star system.
   
3. This is a side view and a top view of a smaller layout of the modular ship known as the Roca Maestro class Modular Ore Hauler.
   
4. A typical Type J class Seeker preparing to enter jumpspace.
   

Prospector Vessel - Smallcraft:

1. Two Bathysphere class Prospector's Cutters making planetfall.
   
2. A Tomar class Industrial Mining Launch equipped with two 15-ton Ore Pods, a kind of Cargo Container.
   

Strategy & Tactics (Doctrine)

Prospectors and seekers perform the following missions:

1. Resource Prospecting
2. Resource Recovery ("Mining")
3. Resource Surveying
4. Other specialized uses

They are noncombatants and are not intended to do anything other than run from hostiles.

Supraclass Roles

Prospectors AKA Seekers typically serve the following roles:
Largecraft & Bigcraft:

1. Asteroid Miner (JB)
2. Asteroid Prospector (JB)
3. Belter Craft (JB)
4. Belter Ship (JB)
5. Mining Vessel (JM & GM)
6. Prospector Vessel (J) (Namesake)
7. Resource Collector (J)
8. Resource Hunter (JM)
9. Resource Scout (JM)
10. Seeker (J)
11. Survey Scout (LU)
12. Survey Ship (LU)

Size-Class Roles for Transport Vessels

1. Industrial Smallcraft (UG) (1 to 99 tons)
2. Prospector Vessel (J) (100 to 2,499 tons)
3. Light Industrial Vessel (GL) (2,500 to 99,999 tons)
4. Medium Industrial Vessel (GM) (100,000 to 249,999 tons)
5. Heavy Industrial Vessel (GH) (250,000 to 499,999 tons)
6. Superheavy Industrial Vessel (GS) (500,000 to 999,999 tons)
7. Ultraheavy Industrial Vessel (GU) (1,000,000 or more tons)

Civilian Subcraft

Civilian subcraft (...both smallcraft and bigcraft) are carried by some of these vessels:

1. Barge (WB)
2. Utility Craft (U)

Supraclass Archetypal Roles

These vessels typically serve the following archetypal roles:

J-class Prospector Vessel Supraclass Archetypes
Archetype	Type Code	Exemplar	Remarks
Resource Collector	J	Jackie class Seeker	None J = ramJet (...an early reaction drive used by many of the earliest asteroid prospectors)
Belter Craft	JB	Seeker class Asteroid Prospector	Belter craft perform many of the same missions as prospectors, but are specialized to search planetoid or asteroid belts, requiring less ship performance and cost, but also adding more risk. Belting is a highly dangerous vocation. Many belters use non-jump capable boats. B = Belter
Mining Vessel	JM	Udzuekh class Mining Vessel	Mining vessels follow prospectors and belters, doing extraction and processing at low to medium levels. Truly large resource quantities will attract industrial mining assets. Smaller yields can be handled by smaller, yet capable mining vessels. M = Mining
Prospector Vessel AKA Seeker	JP	Arzhent class Prospector/Surveyor	Prosecutors or Seekers have a straight forward job: Enter un-assayed star systems and investigate, looking for valuable resources worthy of bringing industrial mining vessels or even mining stations for later widespread, industrial extraction, and processing. P = Prospector, Seeker, etc.
Survey Vessel	LU	Donosev class Survey Scout	Survey scouts and other science vessels often perform the first data assays of a system, which later attract an array of prospecting, seeking, and belter attention. The missions of survey vessels and prospecting vessels overlap. L = Laboratory U = sUrvey
Industrial Smallcraft	UG	Tomar class Industrial Mining Launch	None U = Utility G = Great Industrial
NOTES: There is semantic overlap between many of the classes and codes. Some codes organize by mission or capability, others by size and tonnage, and yet others by other characteristics.

History & Background (Dossier)

While all Prospectors are Belters, not all Belters are Prospectors, as it is a Prospector who identifies suitable targets for later Asteroid Miners.

At minimum, a Propsector needs a way to get to their target asteroids, a way of assessing them and a way of recording their finds. These things are true whether the Prospector is a lone independant, or part of a Megacorporate survey team.

Generally, Prospectors operate small spaceships or starships, going from rock to rock. Sometimes, Prospectors are dropped off by their mothership, and then survey the rock operating out of temporary shelters on the asteroid itself, with the mothership returning once the survey is complete. This allows multiple teams of belters to operate out of one mothership, allowing gains in economy.

While more expensive, jump capable starships enable encounters with pirates to be avoided, making Prospecting a much safer operation. Many Prospectors use modified IISS Type S scouts, usually referred to as 'Seekers', as the IISS sensor package and robust life support and engineering systems are particularily suited to several month long survey expiditions.

Assessment is done by a combination of sensors, scientific instruments and samples for later analysis by better equipment. Part of the skill of a Prospector is knowing what to survey, where and for how long - an experienced Prospector knows when to look for veins of intrusive material, when to sample randomly in a homogenous body and when to abandon an unprofitable rock for another target.

Generally speaking, Prospectors simply record the location and orbit of their surveyed asteroids, as this will allow the target to be located at a future time. Sometimes, beacons are placed on particular rocks, but this is more commonly done to denote asteroids as the legal property of some entity. Some belters broadcast their results to base, but this is unusual in less secure Outsystems, as it may alert Pirates or claim jumpers to the presence of the Belter.

Imperial systems often require a Belter to lodge a temporary survey claim on the asteroids proposed to be surveyed. This claim is generally for 90 days, and then either has to be upgraded to a more expensive Exploitation Licence or abandoned.

Some Prospectors operate without ever entering their target system, by taking existing surveys and applying new techniques, or looking for now in-demand metals or compounds. Generally, once potentially profitable target is found, another Prospector is hired to resurvey the target asteroid and confirm the results. This technique extensively applied by Imperial Megacorporations, who in some systems have series of survey results stretching back hundreds of years.

Prospectors can also operate on planetary surfaces.

Typical Resource Exploitation Process

Typical Mining Sequence:

• Survey Vessel (LU) → Prospector Vessel (JP) → Belter Craft (JB) → Mining Vessel (JM) → Industrial Mining Vessel (GM)

Selected Variant Types & Classes

Civilian Vessel - Seeker / Prospector:
Type J class Prospector Vessel:

1. Type JB class Belter's Ship
   1. Seeker class Asteroid Prospector
2. Type JM class Mining Ship
   1. Udzuekh class Mining Vessel
3. Type JP class Prospector Vessel AKA Type J class Seeker
   1. Arzhent class Prospector/Surveyor
   2. Jackie class Seeker
   3. Khazad class Seeker
   4. Kteiroa class Seeker
4. Type UG class Industrial Smallcraft
   1. Bathysphere class Prospector's Cutter
   2. Prospector class Remote Fuel Scavenger
   3. Tomar class Industrial Mining Launch

Ship Summary List

Some of the most commonly used vessels in this role or these roles include:

25 Representative Prospector Vessel (J) Classes

Class Mission Code TL Tons Jump G Origin Canon Quick ship profile Class Mission Code TL Tons Jump G Origin Canon Quick ship profile Arzhent class Prospector/Surveyor JJ 15 180 2 2 Third Imperium No Arzhent class Prospector/Surveyor JJ 15 180 2 2 Third Imperium No Assistance class Commercial Tender JR 11 3,500 2 2 Third Imperium Bathysphere class Prospector's Cutter J 14 60 0 1 Third Imperium R-6S10 Bowman class Mining Platform JJ 12 5,000 0 1 Third Imperium Yes Cortez class Salvage Ship JU 10 800 2 1 Third Imperium No Grovestone class Smallcraft Tender JV 13 300 2 3 The Borderland Subsector GV-DB42 Gunsan class Orbital Dockyard JW 11 90,000 0 1 Distant Fringe Icepick class Fuel/Ice Harvesting Drone JJ 12 10 0 7 Second Imperium JJ-1P70 Iron Monarch class Mining Vessel J 12 400 1 2 Old Earth Union JM-DU21 Jackie class Seeker JJ 12 100 2 1 Third Imperium Yes JP-AL22 Kteiroa class Seeker JJ 14 200 2 2 Aslan Hierate Yes JJ-BS22 MCS class Mobile Asteroid Base J 13 10,000,000 0 1 Third Imperium Mint class Mining Drone JJ 12 10 0 1 Third Imperium JJ-1P10 Ocklosh class Salvage Ship JU 13 400 2 3 Third Imperium Yes Quarter Hammer class Construction Drone J 12 10 0 1 Second Imperium J-1C10 Roughneck class Frontier Fuel Harvester JG 6 200 0 1 New Era Yes JG-BP10 Seeker class Asteroid Prospector JJ 11 100 2 1 Distant Fringe SI-049 Company Store class Mining Tender JV 14 4,000 1 2 Third Imperium JV-04U21 Type J class Seeker JJ 10 100 2 2 Third Imperium Yes J-AL22 Type VJ class Seeker JJ 9 200 1 1 Vargr Extents Yes Udzuekh class Mining Vessel JJ 11 400 2 1 Vargr Extents Yes VCS 891 class Resource Scout JJ 10 100 1 6 Viyard Concourse Wobbegong class Seeker JJ 12 100 1 3 Third Imperium No Zukseg class Seeker JJ 10 200 1 1 Vargr Extents No JJ-BU11

0 Representative Belter Craft (JB) Classes
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0 Representative Mining Vessel (JM) Classes
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0 Representative Prospector Vessel (JP) Classes
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0 Representative Survey Vessel (LU) Classes
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0 Representative Industrial Smallcraft (UG) Classes
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References & Contributors (Sources)

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This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• This article is an amalgamation of many different materials published since 1977.
• Jim Cunningham. High Passage 4 (FASA, 1982), TBD.
• Martin Dougherty. Scout Ships (Avenger Enterprises, 2007), TBD.
• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), TBD.
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science