Apart from asteroid mining, a fueling station on the Moon could make future space missions far more affordable and feasible

[Rocket launching from a space station/Pexels]

Minerals such as iron, gold, and copper are vital to the global economy.

The 1.7 trillion dollar mining industry provides raw materials for everything from where we live and who we speak with our friends, families, and others, from the Arctic Circle to the Sahara Desert.

However, mining has an extremely serious environmental expense, one that will force us to consider off-planet alternatives before it’s too late.

In our own solar system, asteroids, moons, and planets possess an almost limitless abundance of untapped resources. Some astroids are extremely valuable due to resources such as gold, silver, and rare earth metals, but the most valuable element may be our most essential one.

Although humans have been mining on Earth for thousands of years, mining in space necessitates the development of new advanced technology in order to realize any future commercial and economic benefits. Such technologies can just allow humanity to extend operations beyond Earth’s borders and take the next giant leap forward.

[Asteroids photo/Bloomberg]

The millions of astroids in our solar system are represented by these tiny dots. Government and private aerospace companies have been studying their structure, venue, and even potential payoffs to mine them for the past two decades.

Davida, an astroid, is worth more than $100 trillion. Bennu and Ryugu, for example, are valued at $669 million and $82 billion, respectively. The explanation for their high price tags is that they contain higher concentrations of valuable metals such as platinum, gold, and iron.

Just one astroid sample has ever been returned to Earth in human history. On the Hayabusa mission of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in 2010. Even then, the return sample consisted of nothing more than dust particles. The mission’s overall cost was estimated to be about $250 million.

Bringing items from space to Earth makes sense only if the items are extremely valuable and unavailable on Earth. Also returning the most valuable asteroids may result in a significant drop in the value of such materials.

NASA is building a probe for the asteroid ’16 Psyche,’ which is shaped like a potato and is scheduled to launch in 2022. This asteroid is approximately 90% metals, with the remaining 10% consisting of nickel, iron, platinum, and even gold. According to experts, the asteroid is worth nearly $700 quintillion dollars. It may be the inner core of a developing planet that has lost its outer layers, according to NASA, providing unprecedented insight into how planets shape.

If huge quantities of this asteroid could be brought back to Earth, the availability of resources would skyrocket. That is, we will have more materials than we could possibly need. Causing the price to plummet to near-zero.

Experts believe that resources mined in space are more likely to remain in space, kicking off a new money-making industry.

Any space nation will have looked into ‘in-situ research utilisation,’ which is a general space concept that means using the tools available to you where you are. There is something more important to use in space than fuel, which is plentiful on Earth.

The element of water. Water is not only capable of sustaining human and plant life in space, but it can also be used to power possible manned missions. Water’s constituents, hydrogen and oxygen, can be isolated and reassembled to create petrol. Hydrogen fuel, a zero-emission fuel, is also used in spacecraft propulsion and fuel cell vehicles.

In this current space race, hydrogen fuel exploration could spur new developments that can help combat climate change by hastening the phase-out of fossil fuel usage on Earth. There’s still a lot of demand for it, and it’s a great business opportunity for risk-takers who want to make a lot of money.

In papers published by industry, governments, and economists in 2018, it was projected that a $4 billion investment in the moon water mining operation, equivalent to the expense of a luxury hotel in Las Vegas, will produce $2.4 billion in annual revenue.

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In 2016, the United Launch Alliance (ULA), an American spacecraft launch service provider, revealed that it is willing to pay about $3000 per kilogram for propellant in a lower Earth orbit of less than 2000 kilometers in altitude, compared to an average price of $4000 per kilogram for propellant delivered from Earth.

The moon, according to most experts, is a good place to start. It has more gravity than an asteroid, making it easier to land, and its poles are believed to be filled with water ice. That potential volume of water has made it the focus NASA’s Artemis Program which aims to land astronauts on the moon’s southern pole. Lindsay Stirling, an American violinist, recently donated violin music for this initiative.

NASA will be the first customer for any water harvested on the moon as a result of this.

[The Moon, Earth’s one and only natural satellite]

Everyone, like China, India, Israel, the United States, and Europe, is now focused on space exploration, beginning with the moon. All of these government schemes are attempting to set up shop in preparation for a future of water mining.

A fueling station on the Moon could make future space missions far more affordable and feasible.

Read next chapter : Space Economy : Chapter 2

Disclaimer : This article first appeared on Bloomberg as a documentary.