Mining In Space?

It is said that whats scarce on Earth, is plentiful in Space. Could this really be true? Perhaps. Water shortage may not be a problem for a while, now that we may be able to claim it from Space. We may even harvest valuable metals, such as platinum and gold from Space too! To obtain these resources, and more, astronauts will need to mine meteorites. Apparently it is no crazier than deep-sea oil drilling or deep-sea mining.

Mining in Space is not a new idea, though. It was the Russian rocketeer, Konstantin Tsiokolvsky who first thought of the daunting prospect in 1903 (Times). His idea makes valuable sense, not just because the space rocks contain the precious resources, but also the fact that there are thousands of them! There are already 8,931 nearby asteroids that have been documented and mapped, thus making them very tempting (Karl Tate).

The asteroids are located in the Asteroid Belt, just outside the orbit of the planet closest to us, Mars. If the decision is made to mine them, it will not be as difficult as an expedition to Mars, or any nearby planet. This is because of their little gravity, making it easier to land on, and take off of the meteorite (Karl Tate). This also makes it possible to carry more load, though unfortunately, it will result in a even trickier return back to Earth. Imagine, rocketing towards Earth carrying, about 3 tonnes of rock, containing platinum, gold, zinc, aluminum and all sorts of valuable metals and water (Karl Tate), at

hundreds, if not thousands, of miles per hour! Not easy! Thanks to the Earths gravity this load gets heavier the closer you get to Earth, adding another problem.

As a result of the worlds water shortage and shortage of minerals and ores, I think that this is an excellent idea. I would have never thought of mining in Space, its ingenious! It will be an expensive endeavor, but if it is successful, it will benefit the world. I feel that this is both an economical and an environmental perspective. Once the majority of the water and ores, on Earth are depleted, we may have to rely on asteroids for water and the valuable metals. I believe that it is possible to mine the meteorites and gain the necessary resources. In fact, I hope we can. It may be very important for our survival in, perhaps, a million years time.

Economically, this will be quite risky. Especially because of the state money is currently in. The project will, undoubtedly, cost a lot of money. Some of which may be needed for other things, causing small uprisings among staff, or people who are in some way affected. Otherwise this is a great opportunity for the human race! We can find resources in Outer Space! From the environmental perspective, this may help us incredibly, or destroy an unknown ecosystem. We dont know, and we may never know.

I think that countries will have to send up the needed space vehicles in order to claim a certain area of asteroids. They should claim an area not just individual asteroids. Otherwise it will be a massive race. There will still be debates, but its better than people getting killed squabbling over a space rock. I think that countries should

own areas, not companies or individuals. That way, your country can get what it needs and be sorted. If a country wants/needs more, they will either have to find an area, or loan/borrow from others. Although, there must be limitations, perhaps all equal, that way there wont be fighting over who has too much and who has too little.

I never thought the day would come when we could obtain water and gold from Space. Not even in my dreams, but it might within my lifetime. In fact, one of the friends in my class could be one of the astronauts that go up there and work on it. This idea may save the Earth, maybe even the human race. I still cant get over the fact that they have actually started to develop this into a real possibility! I hope that one day, I will see it being done, in real life.

Works Cited
Chang, Kenneth. "In Pursuit of Riches, and Travelers Supplies, in the Asteroid Belt." Online posting. New York Times. New York Times, 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/science/space/in-pursuit-of-riches-and-travelerssupplies-in-the-asteroid-belt.html?_r=2&ref=science>. Kluger, Jeffrey. "Can James Cameron Or Anyone Really Mine Asteroids?" Online posting. Time. Time, 25 Apr. 2012. Web. 03 May 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2112996,00.html>. Tate, Karl. Mining The Asteroids. Digital image. Web. 3 May 2012. <http://1.bp.blogspot.com/1CQRXNf1e2E/T5b7GJRQAXI/AAAAAAAAJEU/10LgYyXLZNM/s1600/asteroidresources-mining-.jpg>.

Wall, Mike. "Asteroid Mining No Crazier than Deep-sea Drilling, Advocates Say." Online posting. Fox News. FOX News Network, 26 Apr. 2012. Web. 03 May 2012. <http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/04/26/asteroid-mining-no-crazier-than-deep-seadrilling-advocates-say/>. -------

Self Evaluation

Criterion A: 5 Criterion B: 4