According to newly emerging popular beliefs, the world’s first trillionaires will be those who make their wealth in asteroid mining! People like renowned futurist Peter Diamandis, scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson, and the financial institution Goldman Sachs have all predicted this inevitability throughout the years.
While the concept has only been a sort of science fiction for decades, it has only recently gained traction as a real possibility. As a result, asteroid mining companies were formed, and legislation was passed recognising corporations’ ability to seek for, claim, and extract space-based commodities.
But what are the chances that someone will start an asteroid mining company that will be profitable? When do you think this will become a part of our economy on a regular basis?
What are Asteroids? And how were they actually formed?
To address that question, a review of the Solar System’s history appears to be necessary. Our Sun was born some 4.6 billion years ago from a nebula of gas and dust that had gravitational collapse at its centre. Over the next few millennia, the Sun’s equator gradually constricted to form the planets.
What are Asteroids? And how were they actually formed?
To address that question, a review of the Solar System’s history appears to be necessary. Our Sun was born some 4.6 billion years ago from a nebula of gas and dust that had gravitational collapse at its centre. Over the next few millennia, the Sun’s equator gradually constricted to form the planets.
According to the current astronomical models used by scientists, asteroids are the remnants of the Solar System’s origin. Asteroids and planets were generated from the same raw ingredients in this regard.
The case for asteroid mining is straightforward: there are many bodies in the Solar System that potentially contain a wealth of minerals, ores, and volatile elements that are vital to Earth’s economy.
The number of asteroids in the inner Solar System is almost a 150million, and that’s only the ones that are 100 metres (330 feet) in diameter or larger.
What are the different types of asteroids? What do they contain?
These are categorised into three categories: S-type, C-type and M-type, which correspond to asteroids mostly comprised of clay and silicates, silicates and nickel-iron, and metals, respectively. C-types account for about 75%, S-types for 17%, and M-types and miscellaneous types for the remaining 5%.
Minerals such as gold, cobalt, platinum, zinc, lead, tin, indium, copper, silver iron, and rare-earth metals are expected to be rich in these two groupings. These metals have been critical to economic and technical growth but they have already been mined for several millennia now.
There are also likely to be many asteroids and comets containing water ice as well as other volatiles like ammonia, methane, etc. Water ice could be gathered to meet the world’s expanding demand for fresh water for drinking, irrigation, and sanitation.
Volatile materials could also be exploited as a source of chemical propellants, such as hydrazine, allowing for more exploration and mining. According to Planetary Resources, the Solar System contains around 2.2 trillion US tonnes (2 trillion metric tonnes) of water ice.
But the main question still remains, why do people want to leave Earth and tap into asteroid mining?
Indeed, according to some predictions, our world could run out of crucial components required for modern industry and food production over the next 50 to 60 years. This is enough of a motivation to try to tap into the seemingly endless supply of materials found off-world.
Furthermore, there are numerous advantages to diversifying humanity’s resource base outside Earth. Mining has a significant impact on the natural ecosystem here on Earth. Indeed, depending on the methods utilised, it can lead to erosion, sinkholes, habitat damage, and the extinction of native animal and plant species.
There’s also the risk of toxic runoff and contamination of groundwater, soil and surface water, which poses a threat to humans, wildlife, and the environment. The environmental damage caused by smelting, manufacturing and machining is well-documented.
These industrial operations, when combined with power generation, are among the most significant sources of air and water pollution. Humanity may drastically lessen the environmental impact of mining by transferring these obligations off-world.
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