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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
 Posted - 04/25/2012 : 18:46:57
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Article in Time/Science: Can James Cameron — Or Anyone — Really Mine Asteroids?
By Jeffrey Kluger Wednesday, Apr. 25, 2012
Time was, incredibly rich guys bought sports teams. It was fun, it was affordable (by incredibly rich guy standards, at least) and it kept them off the streets. But going to the Super Bowl isn't enough anymore. For today's uber-rich, it's going to space that counts.
Space has been the goal of choice for the .001% for a while now. Amazon's Jeff Bezos; SpaceX's Elon Musk; Microsoft's Paul Allen; Virgin Airlines' Richard Branson and others have all jumped into the cosmic pool, looking for adventure and fortune either by sending tourists aloft or by building rockets to launch payloads for NASA, the Pentagon or private groups.
Today, Planetary Resources Inc., a start-up backed by director and ocean explorer James Cameron and Google billionaires Peter Diamandis and Eric Anderson, joined the space club, convening an event at the Seattle Museum of Flight to announce that they were going into the improbable business of space mining — harvesting asteroids for iron, nickel, platinum, zinc, aluminum, gold, water and more. What's scarce on Earth is plentiful in space, and if you can get your hands on what's out there, you could add trillions of dollars to the global economy, according to Planetary Resources' own estimates. Better still, when your quarry is located millions of miles from Earth, you can do as much blasting and digging as you want without environmental regulations or noise ordinances cramping your style.
"Scarcity is contextual and technology is an abundance-liberating force," said Anderson at the Seattle event. "We're going to bring the solar system within our economic sphere of influence." Nice sentiment, but can they do it?
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“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
Edited by - HalfMooner on 04/25/2012 18:48:05
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Machi4velli
SFN Regular
USA
854 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2012 : 18:51:58 [Permalink]
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| To me, these are the rich folks to admire. They're at least not blowing their earnings on inconsequential things. And, without the impetus from government for space exploration, I'm glad we have someone to try. |
"Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people."
-Giordano Bruno
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge."
-Stephen Hawking
"Seeking what is true is not seeking what is desirable"
-Albert Camus |
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9688 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2012 : 19:15:52 [Permalink]
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Mining for rare elements could be potentially profitable. While most of the Asteriod-belt's asteroids contain mostly iron and nickel, some of them have high yields of platinum and other precious metals.
May I interest you in PERMANENT? www.permanent.com
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Dr. Mabuse - "When the going gets tough, the tough get Duct-tape..."
Dr. Mabuse whisper.mp3
"Equivocation is not just a job, for a creationist it's a way of life..." Dr. Mabuse
Support American Troops in Iraq:
Send them unarmed civilians for target practice..
Collateralmurder. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/05/2012 : 01:03:25 [Permalink]
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The main value of any minerals in the asteroids is simply their location and their orbital velocities. The cheapest operational orbital launch system, Russia's Proton-M rocket system, presently costs $4,302 to launch one kilogram into low earth orbit. (A future Space-X launcher may reduce this cost to $2,204.) Asteroid material, whatever it consists of, has a high inherent value by simply being "up there" already. Iron and nickel are known to be there in large quantities. Bringing these material to earth's surface may someday be economical, but using them in space is far more important. Every kilo of asteroid iron and nickel begins with a value of thousands of dollars.
If we ever want to engineer large space stations, interstellar craft, or huge orbiting solar arrays, the asteroids will provide most of the material. Launching every kilo from the earth's surface simply would be economically unfeasible. The asteroids could make space colonization largely self-sustaining.
Asteroid mining could open the Cosmos to humanity, and help us to solve our energy and environmental problems on earth. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 08/06/2012 03:37:21 |
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the_ignored
SFN Addict
2562 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 03:51:57 [Permalink]
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Speaking of Space X, have a look here.
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>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.
What brought that on? this. Original posting here.
Another example of this guy's lunacy here. |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 05:04:41 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by the_ignored
Speaking of Space X, have a look here. |
Great news! |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 05:11:53 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
The main value of any minerals in the asteroids is simply their location and their orbital velocities. The cheapest operational orbital launch system, Russia's Proton-M rocket system, presently costs $4,302 to launch one kilogram into low earth orbit. (A future Space-X launcher may reduce this cost to $2,204.) Asteroid material, whatever it consists of, has a high inherent value by simply being "up there" already. Iron and nickel are known to be there in large quantities. Bringing these material to earth's surface may someday be economical, but using them in space is far more important. Every kilo of asteroid iron and nickel begins with a value of thousands of dollars.
If we ever want to engineer large space stations, interstellar craft, or huge orbiting solar arrays, the asteroids will provide most of the material. Launching every kilo from the earth's surface simply would be economically unfeasible. The asteroids could make space colonization largely self-sustaining.
Asteroid mining could open the Cosmos to humanity, and help us to solve our energy and environmental problems on earth.
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This is great and all but you are going to need to start with the whole mining, refining and manufacturing facilities IN ORBIT. This is just like that silly Mars idea from a few months ago, rich jerks who think that their money will somehow let them bypass 50 years of prep work. |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
| Edited by - BigPapaSmurf on 08/06/2012 05:15:11 |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 05:58:13 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
This is great and all but you are going to need to start with the whole mining, refining and manufacturing facilities IN ORBIT. This is just like that silly Mars idea from a few months ago, rich jerks who think that their money will somehow let them bypass 50 years of prep work. |
There's a great deal to be done. I suspect the best approach may turn out to be an intense astronomical survey of asteroids, then to launch unmanned prospecting probes to assay likely rocks. Then, maybe, ion-boosted robot tugs to slowly bring them (carefully!) into orbits near earth. (L5 might be a safe and stable place.) All this will be useless unless there are refining and manufacturing facilities in orbit as well, probably manned.
Yup, many technical problems loom, and great expenses. But unlike that crazy Mars idea, at least this probably won't involve marooning people on distant planets. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
| Edited by - HalfMooner on 08/06/2012 06:15:12 |
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BigPapaSmurf
SFN Die Hard
3192 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 06:35:06 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by HalfMooner
Yup, many technical problems loom, and great expenses. But unlike that crazy Mars idea, at least this probably won't involve marooning people on distant planets.
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Yep we'll only be stranding the dead presidents! |
"...things I have neither seen nor experienced nor heard tell of from anybody else; things, what is more, that do not in fact exist and could not ever exist at all. So my readers must not believe a word I say." -Lucian on his book True History
"...They accept such things on faith alone, without any evidence. So if a fraudulent and cunning person who knows how to take advantage of a situation comes among them, he can make himself rich in a short time." -Lucian critical of early Christians c.166 AD From his book, De Morte Peregrini |
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HalfMooner
Dingaling
Philippines
15831 Posts |
Posted - 08/06/2012 : 07:01:48 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by BigPapaSmurf
Yep we'll only be stranding the dead presidents! |
Well, they're billionaires, so it's not as though it's our taxes going down a rabbit hole. Even if they fail, no doubt much will be learned. For later use, hopefully. |
“Biology is just physics that has begun to smell bad.” —HalfMooner
Here's a link to Moonscape News, and one to its Archive. |
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Billionaires put big money into asteroid mining
