A group of American scientists from the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge has called for the development of serious restrictive measures for mining on the worlds of the solar system. Experts note that humanity can deplete the solar system in the same way as the nature of the Earth, if it begins to use its resources uncontrollably.
In a new study, which will soon be published in the journal Acta Astronautica, it is said that the industrial revolution, which began about two hundred years ago, in such a short geological time frame has changed our planet beyond recognition.
Wildlife areas are shrinking, the atmosphere and oceans are polluted, about a million species are threatened with extinction. As technology develops at a sterile pace, and humanity will soon be able to start extracting minerals on other planets and their satellites, a similar negative scenario could be repeated, but on a larger scale, scientists say. If space exploration proceeds as rapidly as the development of world economies, then humanity will completely deplete the water, iron, mineral and other resources of the solar system in just 400 years.
The transformation of the solar system, right down to remote corners, into a dry desert can rob us of our home. And we will have nowhere else to go, the study authors note. Therefore, scientists are calling to keep 85% of the system intact, turning them into a kind of national parks on Earth.
Limiting galactic consumption to one-eighth of the available resources may seem like a bad deal, but outer space is a big place, and even a small fraction of the bounty of our solar system could give a lot to humanity.
In developing this “one-eighth principle,” the researchers looked at the approximate use of iron on Earth since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
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According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), they double every twenty years. If in 1800 the volume of production was about 450 thousand tons, then in 1994 - already 900 million tons. And by 2016, that is, in just 22 years, world production increased to 2-2.2 billion tons.
If humanity also begins to zealously extract resources on other planets of the solar system, then they will be enough for about 460 years, scientists calculated. After that, we will have to abruptly switch to completely different sources, which, according to the author of the report, looks like a very unrealistic prospect.
Scientists note that massive worlds with powerful gravity, such as Jupiter, can be safely excluded from space exploration plans. Humanity is unlikely to be able to extract resources there. Much more promising worlds, scientists call objects closer to Earth: the Moon and Mars, as well as iron-rich bodies passing through the asteroid belt.
At the same time, the authors note that at present the pace of launching interplanetary missions is not too intense - about 15 projects per decade. If this trend continues, it will take 130 years for humans to visit potentially exploratory sites at least once. However, as soon as the necessary technologies appear that allow you to quickly, safely and efficiently extract resources on other planets, a chain reaction will start.
Nikolay Khizhnyak