The idea of including asteroids, comets, and other small bodies has been suggested before, but I think with the addition of the litheor deepspike npc's the time may now be right to bring it up again.
The Deepspikes are not traditional NPC's in the sense that you don't have to disable them. Asteroids and comets could work the same way.
They would have to disappear from the BT immediately after analyzing them in order not to mess with NPC runs.

Examples

Carbonaceous Asteroid
Common
Required scan - 300
When the data from this asteroid is analyzed you receive 500-1000 Research points.


Iron-Nickel Asteroid
Common
Required scan - 400
Data analyze = 2000-5000 mineral units


Other possibilities: comets, ship wreckage, abandoned space stations....



Values would need to be adjusted, but you get the idea... Many other objects could be added to this list including rare or even unique NPC's such as Caelon. Feel free to throw in other possibilites

Actually, I think the timer that Dan put on the Deepspikes should be used here as well. I don't think they should disappear once 'analyzed' (or whatever it would be called), but they should have a similar timer- 10 minutes from when it is scanned. It sort of slows down NPC 'runs', but that is a small method of fighting Auto-Ranking, even if it only delays the Auto-Ranker for 10 minutes.

You should be banned for even suggesting such a thing as slowing down NPC runs, .

If Dan ever wants to know what would make half the upper ranks just up and quit it would be introducing a permanent staller NPC.

Slowing down auto-ranking should not be a goal. It is a legitimate strategy just like SSB's. Imagine how many RSL implants would get wasted waiting for the BT to clear

That's a good thing, I'm sure Dan didn't want one RSL to last almost an entire NPC run. Would also drive demand.

An RSL lasts 30 minutes... serious npc'ers won't even be 1/4 of the way through an energy bar in that time.