Eros, the site of the protomolecule experiment, in "The Expanse" TV series

Eros is the second-largest near-Earth asteroid located in the inner Asteroid Belt with dimensions of about 34 km × 11 km × 11 km, giving it an irregular, potato-like shape. It's notable as the first asteroid discovered to cross Mars' orbit, and it has been visited by NASA's NEAR Shoemaker probe in 2000, which orbited and landed on it, providing detailed images and data about its surface composition, primarily silicates and metals.

In the universe of The Expanse TV series – a gripping political hard sci-fi drama set in the mid-24th century, where humanity has colonized the entire Solar System – Eros hosts Eros Station, one of the earliest and most bustling outposts in the Belt. It's a major hub for shipbuilding, repairs, and entertainment, with a population of around 100'000 people. The station is spun up to create artificial gravity through centrifugal force, with levels built so that "down" is toward the outer hull, providing about 0.3g – enough for comfortable walking but still a challenge for Inners unused to it.

Unlike the more industrial Ceres, Eros is known for its lower docking fees and vibrant underbelly, featuring casinos, brothels, and shooting galleries that attract crews looking to blow off steam after long hauls. It's described as the "birthplace of the Belt," where early colonists turned raw ore into the skeletons of the first spaceships, though over time, much of the heavy shipping shifted elsewhere. The docks are clustered in five main areas, with old shipyards jutting out like massive spiderwebs of steel and carbon lace, dotted with warning lights and sensors.

Eros plays a central and tragic role in the early story of The Expanse, particularly as the site of the infamous Eros Incident. Security on the station was initially handled by Protogen, but they pulled out and installed a puppet firm to oversee operations. This was all a setup for a massive experiment with the alien protomolecule, which was unleashed on the population as a weapon test, leading to horrifying mutations and the station's eventual takeover by the entity.

Here are some shots of Eros and Eros Station exteriors from the show:

Eros Station docks:

Pallas, the origin of the Free Navy, in "The Expanse" TV series

Pallas, located in the Main Asteroid Belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, is the third-largest asteroid in the Solar System (~512km in diameter). It has 22% the mass of Ceres, the largest asteroid in the Solar System, and gravity of 0.021g (2,1% of the gravity force on Earth). With an orbital inclination of 34.8°, Pallas's orbit is unusually highly inclined to the plane of the Asteroid Belt, making Pallas harder to reach by spacecraft.

In the universe of The Expanse TV series (a political sci-fi drama set in mid-24th century when humans have colonized the entire Solar system) Pallas hosts one of the oldest stations, Pallas Station, in the outer planets, refinement stations for the mining operations in the Asteroid Belt and the largest fuel refinery in the Belt.

In The Expanse TV series Pallas has a population of 9 to 13 thousand, but is also known for its extremist Belter splinter groups among its colony. One of those splinter groups eventually form the core of the Free Navy. Pallas is the birthplace of Marco Inaros, Naomi Nagata and their son Filip.

In late season 5 of the show the acting Secretary-General of the United Nations David Paster orders an uncoordinated missile strike against the Pallas Station, destroying one of its habitation rings and killing thousands of Belters.

Here you can view some of the few shots of Pallas Station exteriors in the show:

Naomi Nagata's ship at Pallas Station docks:

Destruction of one of the habitation rings of the Pallas Station:

More content from The Expanse TV series:

• Eros, the site of the protomolecule experiment
• Concept art for Lovell city (on Luna)
• Destruction of Deimos
• Ganymede, the breadbasket of the Belt
• Ceres, the capital of the Belt
• Lunar colony in season 5
• Martian colonies in season 5
• Martian colonies in season 4
• Mars in season 2

Ceres, the capital of the Belt, in "The Expanse" TV series

Ceres, located in the Main Asteroid Belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, is the largest known asteroid (~940km in diameter) and the only dwarf planet in the Inner Solar system. In the universe of The Expanse TV series (a political sci-fi drama set in mid-24th century when humans have colonized the entire Solar system) Ceres acts as the de facto capital for the Belt - one of the three competing powers in The Expanse, along with the United Nations (based on Earth) and Mars.

Ceres naturally has a gravity of 0.029g (2,9% of the gravity force on Earth), but in the universe of The Expanse it has been artificially spun up to 0.3g of centrifugal force (so the "gravity" points in the opposite direction, not towards the center of the planet). There is a population of around 6 million in Ceres Station which consists of tens of thousands of kilometers of tunnels bored deep into Ceres. Ceres Station is the most important spaceport in the Belt, 800 to 1'000 ships are docked on Ceres every day, so along with the 6 million permanent residents there are an extra one million transiting through at any given time. Ceres Station was initially governed by the United Nations, but during season 1 of the show Outer Planets Alliance (OPA, a fractured sociopolitical movement trying to unite the Belt) takes control.

The life on Ceres is depicted in season 1 and season 6 of The Expanse. Here you can view some of the best shots from locations on Ceres Station (part of them downscaled from 4K UHD screens for better image quality) as well as some concept art for Ceres:

Mid-town Ceres Station:

Ceres Station docks on the surface of Ceres:

Administrative Plaza of Ceres:

Concept art for The Medina level on Ceres by North Front Studio: