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Asteroid mining by 2020
in Zocalo v2.0
This article caught my eye today - a company is planning robotic asteroid mining by 2020:
[URL]http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/us-space-asteroid-mining-idUSBRE83N06U20120424[/URL]
[URL]http://www.wtop.com/884/2838860/Science--Or-Fiction[/URL]
"Within five to 10 years, however, the company expects to progress from selling observation platforms in orbit around Earth to prospecting services. It plans to tap some of the thousands of asteroids that pass relatively close to Earth and extract their raw materials."
[URL]http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/24/us-space-asteroid-mining-idUSBRE83N06U20120424[/URL]
[URL]http://www.wtop.com/884/2838860/Science--Or-Fiction[/URL]
"Within five to 10 years, however, the company expects to progress from selling observation platforms in orbit around Earth to prospecting services. It plans to tap some of the thousands of asteroids that pass relatively close to Earth and extract their raw materials."
Comments
The BBC article about it quotes "several scientists" (the only one they name is a geologist who studies impact cratering) as saying they are sceptical because it doesn't seem like it will be cost effective (they must have missed the "we don't expect to turn a profit for decades" bit). There's also a [url=http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2012/04/asteroid-takeout---a-one-billionaire-mission-to-bring-a-500-ton-asteroid-to-high-earth-orbit-by-2025.ars]recent study[/url] saying that bringing an asteroid to Earth is technically not that difficult with our current level of technology... and it would only take one billionaire, not 6.
I, for one, hope they go full speed ahead. The sooner companies are working in space every day, the sooner I can apply for a job. :)
Joking aside, this is very exciting news! :D
Why does everything always take so long? And why is it always 5 to 10 years from now? Why not now? Tomorrow? Next week?