Space Resources
WHAT IS AN ASTEROID? Asteroids were formed around 4.6 billion years ago at the time of the solar systems creation. Left over rubble you might say. They are unique and diverse in their compositions. During the formation of planets and moons heavy elements sank to the central cores but not so with asteroids. Meteorites, spectroscopy and theory all tell us that they are far richer in metal than the Earth's crust which we presently rely on as our only source of metallic ores. Many asteroids in fact resemble a planetary metal core. In most of them free metal is abundant and in many the main component. Such free metal can be used without further industrial processing such is the purity. The fact that asteroids are rich in precious metals makes them very attractive to mining conglomerates. Gold, platinum and other highly sought after elements are in plentiful supply. Aswell as dirt and metal there are also volatiles. Water, hydrogen and carbon for example. These are also valuable but only to the immediate needs of the prospectors on site as air, drinking water and rocket fuel can be produced from them. Some asteroids are dead comets and therefore very high in volatiles. The most common free metal is a nickel iron cobalt alloy which would be quite useful for construction without industrial processing being needed. The dirt and slag can be turned into ceramic for various purposes, a growing medium for vegetables or simply a radiation shield. About 30% of an asteroids mass is oxygen so length of stay won't be limited by the supply brought along in the spacecraft. NECESSARY EQUIPMENT Mining asteroids is surprisingly simple. The most immediate requirement is protection from positive particulate radiation. This takes the form of cosmic background and solar flares. The best shielding imaginable is also the most readily available. Just hollow out an asteroid and move in. Nothing stops radiation nearly as well as walls hundreds of metres thick. Strip mining consists of scraping off the surface material and using magnets to separate the metal from the dirt. Useful items to take along would include various mechanical grinders, solar ovens essentially made from lightweight foil mirrors and cables to keep the enterprise from drifting away if situated outside(asteroids have practically zero gravity). Special modifications to equipment for use in a space environment would include centrifuges. Total mass of mining and processing equipment is very low in terms of payload when compared to other vital cargo. ESTIMATED RESOURCES The number of sizable asteroids available for mining is estimated to be in the millions. The most detailed study of an asteroid indicatess that any one of these large bodies contain precious metals worth atleast twenty thousand billion U.S dollars. More than enough for the most ambitious space-based engineering schemes imaginable.
Related Websites.
Presentation Homepage.
Ensuring Humanity's Survival.
Fallout.
Project Orion.
PERMANENT
Artemis Project
Gold Rush in Space?
Asteroid Mining - Scientific American.
How Asteroid Mining will Work.
Mining Asteroids For Resources.
Asteroids - Interplanetary Fuel Depots - National Geographic.
Near Earth Asteroids Information.
Harvesting Asteroids - Feedmag.
Rare Helium 3 - Perfect Power Source - Plentiful on the Moon.
Asteroid.net
Asteroid News - Explorezone.com
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous - Eros Landing.
Near Earth Asteroid Resources.
Commercial Space Travel - Spacedev.
Asteroid Mining - Nasa
An Asteroid by any other name - Spacejobs.com
Asteroid Deflection - Space Studies Institute.
The need for an International Space Administration.
Minor Planet Centre.