While our Earth slowly creeps in orbit around the Sun, during this time about 13,000 asteroids fly close by. Known as near-Earth objects, these asteroids are of more than academic interest; these are real treasures. The resources that are stored in them are capable of providing us with untold wealth, the future oil fields of space.
The only question is whether it will be worth it. Some are wondering how realistic it is to implement such a plan that seems to be unrealizable for our world. But those involved in the nascent asteroid mining industry, however, point to many misconceptions about such attempts.
“It's only natural to hesitate when you know little about something,” explains Chris Levicky, president and chief engineer of asteroid development company Planetary Resources. - Most people draw conclusions from headlines. We are only repeating what we have done throughout history, just in a new environment."
Natural resources have always allowed us to expand our boundaries. When Europeans first settled in North America, they lived off the resources they found on this land, and due to this, they created one of the largest economies in the world. In the 20th century, oil helped shape and redefine the world; significant changes like these were initiated by very few.
“Prospectors always go first, and this has been the case throughout history,” said Chad Anderson, managing director of the Space Angel Network, a global network of early investors seeking access to the nascent private space industry.
Those who start thinking about asteroid mining believe they have the potential to shape and define the 21st century. “The results can be revolutionary, both in terms of the benefits for space exploration and for all of us on Earth,” says Steve Eisenhart, senior vice president of the Space Foundation, a global non-profit organization that promotes space-related initiatives.
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Mined in space
The first thing to understand about the extraction of space resources is that we are not talking about the development of asteroids and even the Moon in order to return these resources to Earth. "On Earth, they will have less value," says Anderson. No, we are talking about preserving resources in space and using them to continue the development of the solar system and beyond.
The most important resource for future space miners will be water. And for good reason: travel into space by today's standards is equivalent to a road trip halfway across the world, only you have to take fuel with you. Traveling the first 300 kilometers from Earth will require more energy than the next 300 million kilometers. “Once in Earth orbit, you’ll be halfway to anywhere in the solar system,” says Levicky.
But if rocket fuel is produced in space for the sake of space, this problem can be solved. When water breaks down into its constituents - hydrogen and oxygen - you get two of the most common rocket fuel elements. Even more interesting, the solar system is full of water. She is on the moon, on Mars, on asteroids, and we did not look further.
Asteroids are of particular interest to Planetary Resources. “We know there is water on asteroids because we found it on meteorites that hit the Earth's surface,” Levicky says. “They also don't need a lot of energy to land. It's easier than making a trip to the lunar surface.” Such near-Earth asteroids can act as extraterrestrial "filling stations".
As humans move out of Earth's orbit, water is increasingly important for life support and food production. It can even be used to protect astronauts from radiation. So far, shipping a ton of water into space costs about $ 50 million.
Asteroids also give us the ability to create instruments in space. “Iron is full,” says Levicky, “as is nickel and cobalt. Using technologies like 3D printing, you can take material from asteroids and print something that is not usually carried on rockets. Tools, machines, even dwellings can be built outside the Earth, which will significantly reduce the cost of space exploration.
Of course, space, as they say, is difficult, and mining resources outside of the Earth is clearly not going to be a walk in the park. "Of course there will be challenges to overcome, but that is the history of space," says Eisenhart. Planetary Resources says it is already making money from the technologies it has developed before it even starts mining resources outside of Earth.
“It’s important to know that what’s about to happen is already happening,” Levicky says. The company has already launched one satellite into orbit and the next will search for water using an infrared scanning system.
The first water can be extracted from the asteroid by the first half of the 2020s. This will mark the beginning of a new era, when humanity will emerge from the sandbox of its planet and forever overshadow space with its presence. “I love that audacity, but even more so that it inspires imagination and innovation,” says Eisenhart.
Of course, asteroid mining raises some legal questions. In the United States, the law recognizes that although you do not have the right to own the moon or an asteroid, you own the materials that you take from them - just as you do not have the right to own the ocean, but the fish obtained from it.
This means that private companies can go into space, grab the necessary materials, and it will be perfectly legal. The legal framework for the extraction of resources in space has already begun to be created. Where the extraction of resources in space will lead us is impossible to predict. But its supporters believe they are investing in the long-term future of us as a species. Perhaps we will no longer see the benefits of their initiatives, but our descendants, who will settle throughout the solar system, may well be happy.