The very thought of mining an asteroid seems ridiculous. Why would one want to mine an asteroid and how would one even go about mining it? What may sound like a seemingly impossible task actually doesn’t turn out to be as far-fetched as you think.
The soaringly high costs of spaceflight, the difficult identification of suitable asteroids to mine, and the correct extraction of metals and precious elements from the body—all in a space environment—makes asteroid mining really hard. Although we currently have yet to develop the necessary infrastructure, technology, and techniques to undergo such a feat, we are already surprisingly close to making it a reality. According to Wikipedia, plans to launch missions to explore and study asteroids near the Earth are already underway with plans to begin missions as early as next year. The cost of such a feat ranges from anywhere between USD$2-5 billion, which is very expensive, but still possible nonetheless.
One such mission is NASA’s plan to study a ‘goldmine’, an asteroid worth supposedly quintillions of dollars. According to The Daily Report, a NASA exploration program outlines an expedition to asteroid Psyche 16 by the year 2026. It is a 124-mile-wide ‘goldmine’ of space rock containing precious metals and elements worth up to an estimated 10 quintillion dollars (that’s a 10 followed by 18 zeroes!). First discovered in 1852 by an Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis, Psyche 16 is believed to be a planetesimal (a small astronomical body) from a destroyed core of a protoplanet (a very small planet formed from multiple planetesimals) billions of years ago during the beginning of the formation of our solar system. This huge space rock is located in between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter approximately 370 million kilometres away and has been studied primarily through visible light and infrared measurements. Scientists conducting the program are very excited to know what discoveries they may come across, as planetary professor Elkins-Tanton reported to the Forbes; “We don’t know what we’re going to find. I’m expecting us to be entirely surprised.”
Besides the extraction of precious metals, scientists are hoping to also gain insights into the history behind the stripped, ancient core of the protoplanet from which Psych 16 originated and hence a better understanding of how our solar system was formed. Ultimately, asteroid mining, something that is unfortunately not explored enough, is becoming an increasingly popular topic amongst not only scientists but ordinary people as well. Who knows? Maybe in the relatively near future, asteroid mining may even become a very common phenomenon.
Personally, I think that we should definitely embark on this new journey of asteroid mining as it would revolutionise our current technological capabilities. Although there are several challenges to be faced, they can all be overcome, just as they have been in the history of space exploration. Asteroid mining in particular would be a tremendous leap for man kind. The resources we could gain simply from extracting these mineral rich asteroids could be enough to sustain life on earth for thousands of years to come. It will also allow us to develop even more spaceflight technology and work alongside other existing space exploration programmes.
I think we are all lucky to be alive at a time where we can witness one of man kind’s most incredible and awe inspiring feats and hopefully now also appreciate the significance it will play in our everlasting goal to become an intergalactic species.
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