Posted on 04/21/2012 5:31:08 AM PDT by KevinDavis
Earlier this year, entrepreneur and X-Prize impresario Peter Diamandis hinted he was about to unveil something amazing: a startup that will mine asteroids for precious metals.
“Since my childhood I’ve wanted to do one thing, be an asteroid miner,” Diamandis told Forbes. “So stay tuned on that one.”
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Me, too!
A typo but you get my point.
As I mentioned yesterday. The first sentence of Forward’s Saturn Rukh.
“Got a job for you, pays a billion.”
We ban mining, drilling, hillside cutting, smelting, and such here in America, but want to launch billion dollar rockets into space in order to chase asteroids in order to extract 200 pounds of the same raw materials we sit on right here on earth under my rusty old F-150 parked out back?
We need to get Jerry Pournelle’s ‘A Step Farther Out’ as required reading in schools.
Will it be a new reality show?
LOL! The first thing I thought after reading your post was I’d move my truck a little, get a shovel and start digging!
LOL. Look up the elemental composition of "nickel-iron" asteroids.
If you have a deposit like that in your backyard, you need to immediately file a mining claim and start digging.
From wikipedia:
.....chemical composition is dominated by the elements Fe, Ni and Co, which make up more than 95%.
Carbon is an abundant element in the universe and can easily exist without first being “created” by life. Space diamonds the size of asteroids are indeed possible!
The largest nickel reserves known are in very unpleasant places in the upper regions of Russia. My point is that recovering the same minerals and metals right here on earth is far more efficient than asteroid wrangling.
the gold should be distributed among all mankind to make reparations for slavery
Algor, Bll Clinton and Al Sharpton can maange the funds to make sure everyone gets their fair share and the whole world has renewable energy
asteroids could not be mined if it wasn’t for exploiting the slaves...
sarc
...”...Oh that’s right, NASA scientist said the aliens told us to stay off the moon...(true story)”
I understand that story to be true also...only it was told by astronauts which are scientists too.
yep
and we use taxpayer dollars to make grants and loans to these billionaires to go get their space gold because some liberal think tank has already figured a “global tax” will save mankind, create jobs and rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges (not necessarily in that order)
The initial cash investments are astronomical but once the infrastructure is in place it becomes virtually free in comparison to mining and manufacturing on earth.
No leases to sign and dispute, materials are free, energy is free, transportation costs are low.
NASA gets the shaft.
Peter drills a shaft.
Asteroid Justice? Today’s Global Climate Justice, is the next Galacic Harmony Offensive if we start raping asteroids, changing their mass and causing their orbits and paths to falter.
As a white European, I demand reparations for the enslavement of my peoples at the hands of the Moslem hordes!
I’d like to salvage orbital junk, but the fuel costs and logistics seem prohibitive.
Thank you!
the jupiter mining corporation?
I never read Heinlein......
A lot of terrestrial resources have political risk.
Russia, Congo, South Africa, etc.
As for “Why asteroids?” Its all about Delta Vee; that is, the change in velocity required. In order to get to the Moon’s surface from Lunar orbit you need to change velocity 2.6 Km/sec (IIRC). In order to get back to Lunar orbit you must again change by 2.6 Km/sec.
There are lots of asteroids where you can use gravity “slingshots” and flybys of Luna, Earth, Venus, et al to get Delta Vee requirements down to .5 Km/sec or less.
Remember, doubling Delta Vee takes four times as much fuel because of MV2.
Also, mining asteroids is much less controversial than claiming a piece of Luna. You perform a public service by removing a rock that could hit Earth in the future.
As for ownership, was there any question of who owned the rocks Apollo returned from Luna? If you bag it, you OWN it in space.
Add in a Space Elevator to geosynchronous orbit and beyond (now possible with carbon nanotubes 600X strength/wt of steel), and you have a real High Frontier!
Don’t know if you read what I posted before about RAH:
At the L-5 Society Convention in 1984 (I think that was the year) I was sitting there in my tuxedo waiting for the final banquet to begin. Everybody at our table buzzed with excitement. I asked why. “Don’t you know, this is Heinlein’s table!”
Soon, they seated R.A. Heinlein next to me. I finished off most of the wine on the table, and then turned to him. “Mister Heinlein, I got a bone to pick with you. I read Starship Troopers and was inspired to go to West Point. It wasn’t any fun at all.”
“Well”, he replied, “That’s where you screwed up. You should have gone to Annapolis”. And then he told me a parable.
“When Navy played Army, they took the cadets to Chicago for the game. The good people of Chicago made sure that all of the cadets had blind dates. One cadet got along so famously with his blind date that she wrote him a letter advising him that she was with child.
The cadet went to the Commandant and asked for Compassionate Leave. Then he went to Chicago. He met the girl’s parents and said, “I’m terribly sorry about what happened, but I am ready to resign from West Point and make your daughter an honest woman”.
The parents replied, “Son, that won’t be necessary. We’ve discussed it, and we’d much rather have a bastard in the family than a West Pointer”.
What an honor to be zinged by RAH!
There is a lot of potential here. Just one known asteroid, that NASA has already landed a probe on, called “433 Eros”, which is about 34.5km x 11km x 11km, is believed to have more precious metals in it, especially platinum group metals, than exist in the entire crust of the Earth.
To put that in perspective, on Earth, “platinum ore” has something between 4-6 parts per million of platinum in it. Non-platinum ore, that is, most all other rock, has maybe 1-2 parts per million. It is so rare that typically, the dust on the side of highways is reclaimed, because it has almost as many molecules of platinum group metals, from catalytic converters in cars, as does platinum ore.
At last check, platinum is selling for $1,577/troy ounce. While unusually worth less than gold right now, at $1,642/troy ounce, you can see why mining asteroids to get several tons of each every few months, is becoming far more reasonable.
You white europeans keep paying your jizya in the form of tolerating uncontrolled immigration of moslems into your countries, supporting them with lavish welfare benefits, and the relentless submission of your western cultural values to islam in the name of tolerance
Then, you get to keep your heads attached to yuor infidel necks.... allu akbar
"Get your ass to Mars.....Get your ass to Mars.....Get your ass to Mars....."
For me the real interest lies in the technological advances that would naturally grow from industrialized space.
They’re talking about mining near earth asteroids but that would inevitably lead to mining the main asteroid belt which means faster ships. That in turn will lead to looking for minerals and gasses of the Kuiper belt which will require even faster ships. Once you start looking to the Ort cloud, you can reasonably start talking about missions to Alpha Centauri and Barnard’s star.
Few of these things will happen in our lifetimes but it sure would be nice to see mankind actually striving to do something again.
The movie “Apollo 18” was a documentary.
I guess we're really pissing them aliens off right now, walking a fine line, with a total of five spacecraft orbiting the Moon at the same time.
We’ve got quite a few spacecraft running all over the place. There are several orbiting mars. Cassini is orbiting Saturn. Juno is headed for Jupiter, New Horizons is less than 10 AU from pluto. Dawn is checking out asteroids. Messenger is orbiting Mercury and there’s at least one orbiting Venus. Several are studying the sun and more are looking into deep space.
I heard the moon is made of green cheese? I think I heard it was on MSNBC.
You need the dilithium crystals to go after some leftover supernova remnant which is a diamond seveal hundred miles in size since it is hundreds of YLs distant.
minerals and metals right here on earth
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But not as pure which makes all the difference.
Let me get this straight.... Mining an asteroid is easy, but moon base is not.....Oh that’s right, NASA scientist said the aliens told us to stay off the moon...(true story)
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Maybe the same ones Armstong said watched them from a crater wall during his time on the moon ...
I think the aleins were from the Culture, having been notified by the Dwellers ...
And a lame one at that.
The Message
Urgent Highest Priority Squirt:
Message Classified: Top Secret - President’s Eyes Only
Origin: Unknown
Probable Origin: Believed To Be Lunar Surface
Received By: Apollo 17 Mission Commander
Decrypted Text Follows:
“You are welcome to stay on the lunar surface for a few hours. Staying longer than 96 hours in total will result in actions taken. Once precipitated these actions are not subject to reversal or modifications. Further missions by any party will place you in jeopardy of transgressing this time limit. You have been warned again.
The Management
End Text
End Message
Sent By: Apollo 17 Mission Commander
Received At: NASA Goldstone
Forwarded: NSA
Decrypt and Re-transmission: NSA
Destination: White House, Oval Office
The movie “Apollo 18” was a documentary.
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LOL. I always wondered what happened to the film crew ...
orbiting
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is the key word. Human LANDINGS are forbiden.
orbiting
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is the key word. Human LANDINGS are forbiden.
.
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Obama’s wonderful algae based jet fuel is a bargain at only $4000/gallon now
Ain’t Green Energy science grand?
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The Left in this country is NOT going to let mankind go into space if they can help it.
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