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Private Company to Mine Asteroids!

Stephen

By Stephen
in The Astro Lounge

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Stephen

Stephen

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It's probably the only realistic way forward if we want to expand into space.

Good luck to them.

I've been suggesting this for a while, but I really see no future in manned exploration/work via the big two.

Private entrepreneurs are the future :D

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E621Keith

E621Keith

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I've been suggesting this for a while, but I really see no future in manned exploration/work via the big two.

Private entrepreneurs are the future :)

Don't know about Russia, but China seems very keen. :D

I still can't believe USA currently have no manned space flight capability.

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garethmob

garethmob

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what happens if a astroid comes to distroy us... whos gonna send bruce up to nuke it? :D

seriously though, private firms do seem to be the way forward for us, money talks as they say.......

hell, just imagine what telescope we could buy if every forum member donated £1? we might even have enough to send basic satilight up

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Shibby

Shibby

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Amazing. Hats off to the dreamers for trying to make their vision a reality! Not many private companies would focus on research like this for many years, it's a worthy commitment, so I really hope it works out.

hell, just imagine what telescope we could buy if every forum member donated £1? we might even have enough to send basic satilight up

Hmm, assuming they did, don't think £23k would be quite enough :D

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E621Keith

E621Keith

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Amazing. Hats off to the dreamers for trying to make their vision a reality! Not many private companies would focus on research like this for many years, it's a worthy commitment, so I really hope it works out.

I don't know about that, but the oil industry is throwing a huge amount of cash at deep sea research. I am sure if the asteroid contain resources we need, then someone will develop that capability to get it.

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garethmob

garethmob

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Amazing. Hats off to the dreamers for trying to make their vision a reality! Not many private companies would focus on research like this for many years, it's a worthy commitment, so I really hope it works out.

Hmm, assuming they did, don't think £23k would be quite enough :D

actually there was a kickstarter project for a basic satilight that was quite reasonable to get in :)

just a little off topic, ur astro panel app, any news on a ios version? :)

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Naemeth

Naemeth

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This is awesome news frankly. Who knows what they could fund, a space depot, a moon depot, could we see a moon base in 20 years time? As they go further afield, to Mars and beyond, these depots/bases will make space exploration by NASA cheaper. It's all good news as far as I'm concerned!

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661-pete

661-pete

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Great! :) Brilliant! :):mad: So another of the Solar System's great unspoiled resources, possibly the one which holds the key to the origins of the Solar System and to life itself, falls before the temple of commercial profit and entrepreneurship - and pollution! Why can't they leave the asteroids alone - or at most, allow the human race to try to learn from them, not to exploit them?

The only saving grace is that this madcap scheme, if it ever gets 'off the ground' (*sorry*:(), will only be able to reach very few asteroids. Most of them aren't in suitable orbits. And space travel is very expensive!

Incidentally the link referred to in the OP is a blog and hardly unbiased. Go to the BBC for a more impartial account.

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Ganymede12

Ganymede12

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Wouldn't the cost of extracting the minerals be more than what they are worth. Think about it, they would need...

  • Equipment (drills, rockets ect)
  • Training for the workers
  • A way to get the workers and minerals back
  • Experiments to know how safe an asteroid is to land on.
  • Pay for the workers
  • Fuel
  • Food/Drink

All that to get some rock? I'm not completely opposed to the idea I just think that there getting a bit ahead of them selves.

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661-pete

661-pete

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Wouldn't the cost of extracting the minerals be more than what they are worth. Think about it, they would need...
  • Equipment (drills, rockets ect)
  • Training for the workers
  • A way to get the workers and minerals back
  • Experiments to know how safe an asteroid is to land on.
  • Pay for the workers
  • Fuel
  • Food/Drink

All that to get some rock? I'm not completely opposed to the idea I just think that there getting a bit ahead of them selves.

I think the plan was to do it all with robots. They're not talking of actually sending astronauts to the asteroids... :)
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Naemeth

Naemeth

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I was thinking, could they find someway to send these asteroids crashing to Earth in some safe way, hopefully landing in Antartica or any desert, that way it's easier to mine... (of course, many would kick up a fuss about that)

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pete_l

pete_l

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I think the plan was to do it all with robots. They're not talking of actually sending astronauts to the asteroids... :)
Yes, the biggest benefit that anyone gets from this won't be the minerals extracted (there will always be far more on Earth than in any small/medium sized asteroid - and cheaper to get to, too) - the biggest benefit will be the advances in autonomous robot technology that will be required.

Anyone fancy starting training as a Blade Runner? :)

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