SpaceX Rival Successfully Launches 3D-Printed Rocket Into Near-Space
There have been a lot of recent talks about asteroid mining. What was a popular sci-fi theme – who doesn’t remember Ringworld, or the Night Dawn Trilogy – risks becoming a near future reality. The reason for this is to be found in the development of space business led by private companies. Two start-up companies, Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries seem well on the way to began the adventure, while SpaceX, a private space rocket company, has launched the world’s first privately developed space vehicle, the Dragon, to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on May 11, 2014.
“The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn’t have a space program. And if we become extinct because we don’t have a space program, it’ll serve us right!” (Larry Niven, author of Ringworld)
Also, some studies suggest that not all asteroids would be suitable for mining, after all, and that the most promising targets, ie, the so-called platinum-group metals, are only present in 1% of near-Earth asteroids. Distance and size of the celestial bodies to be exploited represent other important variables in the equations, which in turn augment the overall uncertainty.
Three are the main directions this activity is going to head: the asteroid mining itself; moon colonisation (Russia and China look very motivated, and plans have been announced); Mars exploration and, possibly, economic exploitation. However, when it comes to precise business plans and time scales, things get at best vague, and very few technical details are disclosed. This is not just out of secrecy: space operations present formidable challenges, and it is still unclear how these operations can be made feasible, let alone commercially viable.
“I don’t think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I’m an optimist. We will reach out to the stars.” (Stephen Hawking, interview in The Daily Telegraph, 16 October 2001)
FUTURE IMPLICATIONS
No matter how the whole asteroid mining business will turn out, one of its most interesting aspects is represented by what we may learnt from it. It has been discussed the hypothesis that extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) engaged in asteroid mining may be detectable from Earth. Building space colonies do require raw materials, after all, and an alien species may be busy in retrieving them as much as we would like to do. The idea is that persistent mining over long periods will reduce the number of larger asteroids, leaving only small pieces around. This is what SETI experts call SETT — the Search for Extraterrestrial Technology – as an alternative way to answer the Fermi Paradox and discover we are not alone in the universe. Certainly more exciting than getting outer space platinum on the London Metal Exchange.
PC: Virgin Galactica and Dragon X
About the author
Stephen P. Bianchini is a statistician and a social scientist working in higher education. Based in rainy UK. Passionate about astrophysics, space security, SF and technical diving. Blog: http://earthianhivemind.net/ Twitter: @SPBianchini
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