Aug 17, 2020 21:00:00

What is 'Asteroid Mining' for obtaining infinite metal minerals from space?

The mining industry that produces the '

rare metals ' required for our PCs and smartphones is causing a great deal of damage such as air pollution and water pollution. Kurzgesagt , a science YouTube channel, explains in an animation movie about ' asteroid mining ' that extracts rare metals from asteroids (asteroids), which is considered to replace such mining industry.

Unlimited Resources From Space – Asteroid Mining-YouTube


In the last few decades, PCs and smartphones have become the most influential people in humanity.

Rare metals such as

terbium , neodymium , and tantalum are used in such PCs and smartphones.

However, the mining industry that produces rare metals not only causes air pollution and water pollution and destroys the landscape, but also emits dangerous chemical substances such as

cyanide and sulfuric acid, which harms biodiversity and workers. Give

Another problem is that resources such as rare metals are treated as 'political trading materials' due to export restrictions.

The solution to such a mining problem on earth is 'asteroid mining', which is the mining of many asteroids in the universe.

The minimum size of an asteroid is about 1 meter, but there are also huge ones such as

Vesta , which boasts an area that swiftly fits in Switzerland.

Most asteroids make up the asteroid belt, such as the

main belt , the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt , and the Jupiter Troya group , while other asteroids orbit the planet.

The resources inherent in this asteroid are attracting attention as space development progresses.

This is because even smaller asteroids can contain expensive metals such as platinum.

Psyche , which revolves between Mars and Jupiter, contains abundant metals such as iron, nickel, gold, and platinum that the world's industries have long wanted. thousand trillion dollars (the order of tens of Kyoto when it reaches the circle) has been eye.

However, the abundance of expensive metals in asteroids cannot replace the mining industry on earth if it comes at a huge cost.

In asteroid mining, asteroids, which contain mineral resources that are useful to humankind, are moved to the side of the earth and then separated into individual resources. However, many technical challenges remain with this approach.

One of the challenges is the cost of traveling in outer space. The fuel cost to fly an object of 1 kg to

low orbit is several thousand dollars (about several hundred thousand yen), the cost to go to space is very high, and it is necessary to reduce the space travel cost to realize asteroid mining there is.

A promising way to reduce the cost of space travel is

electric propulsion, which uses electrical energy to replace rocket engines that use chemical fuels. Electric propulsion technology has already been put to practical use, and JAXA's asteroid explorer ' Hayabusa 2 ' is equipped with an ion engine.

Electric propulsion does not have enough output to reach outer space, but once it reaches outer space, it has the property that it can travel a long distance with low-cost fuel, so it can solve one of the problems in asteroid mining. Is possible.

Since a project to sample resources from asteroids has already been carried out, it meets the requirements of 'close to the earth', 'rich in useful mineral resources' and 'suitable size' for humanity. It is possible to identify steroids.

The first thing a space mining vessel approaching the target asteroid must do is to 'stop the rotation of the asteroid.' If the asteroid rotates, it affects transportation, so it is necessary to evaporate a part of it with a laser to give mechanical energy or fix it with a thruster to stop the rotation.

After stopping the rotation of the asteroid, wait until it reaches a position where it is easy to return to the earth's orbit.

'Moon gravity' is important when returning to Earth's orbit. If it passes near the moon, the gravity of the moon can be used to change the orbit significantly without cost.

After reaching the vicinity of the earth, we will begin to disassemble the asteroid. Mining in outer space is very different from earth mining, in which sunlight is collected by a huge mirror to heat rocks and the rocks are turned into gravel and dust with a grinder.

The metal resources extracted from the rocks are transported to the earth by using a reusable rocket or by using a 3D printer mounted on a space mining ship to cover the metal resources with a capsule and drop them directly onto the earth.

Asteroid mining is the first step in the colonization of the solar system.

Asteroid mining technology is expected to become more sophisticated as our infrastructure expands and experience accumulates. If technological innovation progresses, it may even be possible to 'produce rockets and fuel at a factory built on asteroid and send the mined metal resources to the earth.'

Once we can perform asteroid mining, we will be able to obtain a large amount of precious mineral resources on the earth, which will lead to technological innovation. Therefore, it is expected that the cost of the second time of asteroid mining will drop sharply compared to the first time, and the cost of the third time will further decrease, leading to a virtuous cycle.

If the cost of asteroid mining continues to fall, it could completely stop mining on Earth. In the future, mining on the earth may become an anachronistic existence that can not usually be seen, like the hearth.