Furthering Asteroid Resource Utilization in the Next Decade though Technology Leadership (original) (raw)
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arXiv: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics, 2019
In keeping with the Luxembourg government's initiative to support the future use of space resources, ASIME 2018 was held in Belval, Luxembourg on April 16-17, 2018. The goal of ASIME 2018: Asteroid Intersections with Mine Engineering, was to focus on asteroid composition for advancing the asteroid in-space resource utilisation domain. What do we know about asteroid composition from remote-sensing observations? What are the potential caveats in the interpretation of Earth-based spectral observations? What are the next steps to improve our knowledge on asteroid composition by means of ground-based and space-based observations and asteroid rendez-vous and sample return missions? How can asteroid mining companies use this knowledge? ASIME 2018 was a two-day workshop of almost 70 scientists and engineers in the context of the engineering needs of space missions with in-space asteroid utilisation. The 21 Questions from the asteroid mining companies were sorted into the four asteroid s...
Asteroid Mining: Future of Space Commercialization
International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS), 2020
In the future, space commercialization will trigger the quest for space assets. Space investigation will be directed to a shortage of assets as conveying the assets from the earth itself for the advancement of space-based ventures won't be attainable. Receiving the strategy for mining the Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) could be a plausible and practical method for conquering this issue and could upset the stockpile of imperative for human civilization. Spectral analysis and ground-based information propose that NEA can contain water, volatiles and some high-esteem materials worth up to billions of dollars. Studies recommend that few new NEAs will be found later on could build the likelihood that asteroidal mining tasks can rely upon low vitality missions. Thinking about the potential applications, Asteroidal mining can be a spine for future space expedition. This paper presents a complete survey of assets accessible from NEA, innovative and prudent parts of Asteroid Mining. This literature study can be isolated into four sections: i) Exploration (NEA disclosures and assessed populace) ii) Analysis (topographical portrayal of NEA) iii) Extraction (different strategies to concentrate and procedure the assets) iv) Economical viewpoints (financial investigation and its noteworthiness in upcoming days). We have additionally talked about the attainability to direct a space mission in terms of potential orbits and all other technical difficulties are featured.
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2006
Most recently, he was a Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing for the 2005-2006 academic year. His research interests are related to the application of chemistry to astronomical problems, including the origin of the Solar System, the evolution of planetary atmospheres, the origin of organic matter in planetary environments, the chemical structure and history of icy satellites, the hazards of comet and asteroid bombardment of Earth, and the extraction, processing, and use of the energy and material resources of nearby space. He has served as member or Chairman of a wide variety of NASA and NAS advisory committees and review panels. He has written 17 books, including undergraduate and graduate level texts and popular science books, and has authored over 150 scientific publications.
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The economic potential of thousands of near-earth asteroids (NEAs) will help to support future exploration endeavors and human presence in space. Strong evidence suggests that NEAs are rich in metals, water, and/or organic materials, and reaching them will require relatively low fuel costs. Extracted materials from the NEAs can be used to manufacture structures, fuel, and other resources for mankind's exploration of the solar system. In addition, NEAs have a large range of orbits, allowing some to be utilized as traveling resource platforms that may also be used for lowenergy transportation and scientific study of our solar system. Finally, as history has proven, NEAs can collide with Earth and have potentially catastrophic consequences to life and infrastructure. Exploration and understanding of asteroids is essential to humanity's future, both on Earth and in space.
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1991
The Earth is nearing depletion of its natural resources at a time when human beings are rapidly expanding the frontiers of space. The resources which may exist on asteroids could have enormous potential for aiding and enhancing human space exploration as well as life on Earth. With the possibly limitless opportunities that exist, it is clear that asteroids are the next step for human existence in space. This report comprises the efforts of NEW WORLDS, Inc. to develop a comprehensive design for an asteroid exploration/sample return mission. This mission is a precursor to proof-of-concept missions that will investigate the validity of mining and materials processing on an asteroid. Project STONER (Systematic Transfer of Near Earth Resources) is based on two utilization scenarios: (1) moving an asteroid to an advantageous location for use by Earth; and (2) mining an asteroids and transporting raw materials back to Earth. The asteroid explorer/sample return mission is designed in the co...
1990
The use of solar system resources for human industry can be viewed as a natural extension of the continual growth of our species' habitat. Motivations for human activities in space can be discussed in terms of five distinct areas: i) information processing and :' collection, ii) materials processing, iii) energy production to meet terrestrial power needs, iv) the use of extraterrestrial matet._l_, and v) disaster avoidance. When considering 21st-, century activities in space, each of these basic motivations must be treated in the light of j. issues likely to be relevant to the 21st-century Earth. Many of tile problems facing 21stcentury Eahh may stem from the need to maintain the world population of 8 to 10 billion people as is projucted from expected growth rates. These problems are likely to include maaaging the impact of industrial processes on the terrestrial biosphere while providing adequate energy production and material goods for the growing population. The most important human activities in space in the latter half of the 21st-century may be associated with harnessing the resources of the near-Earth asteroids for industrial processes. The near-Earth asteroids are estimated to contain approximately 1017 kg of material, enough to have a profound effect on terrestrial industrial processes. However, if this material is to be of use, challenges associated with the high cost of access to space, the hazards of the space environment, as well as other difficulties associated with any new enterprise, such as obtaining required capital investments, legal issues, and national policy issues must be overcome. The functions a space industry must accomplish include raw material collection, processing raw materials into useful feedstocks, parts fabrication, product assembly, and transport of products to Earth. Dramatic advancements in the technologies of power systems, sensors, and command and control systems will obviously be needed.
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2012
In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) has always been suggested for ambitious space endeavours; and asteroids and comets in particular are generally agreed to be ideal sources, both in terms of its accessibility and wealth. The future utilisation of asteroid resources is here revisited by, firstly, providing an estimate of the total amount of accessible resources in the Earth's neighbourhood and, secondly, by envisaging a series of missions in order to retrieve resources from the most accessible objects known today. An analytical multi-impulsive transfer model is proposed in order to define the region in Keplerian space from which resources are accessible, and mapped subsequently into a near-Earth asteroid model, to understand the availability of material. This estimate shows a substantial amount of resources can be accessible at relatively low energy-cost; on the order of 10 14 kg of material could potentially be accessed at an energy cost lower than that required to access the resources in the Moon. Most of this material is currently undiscovered, but the current surveyed population of near-Earth asteroid provides a good starting point for a search for future capture opportunities. The possibility of capturing, i.e., placing the asteroid into an orbit in permanent close proximity to Earth, a small-size NEO or a segment from a larger object would be of great scientific and technological interest in the coming decades. A systematic search of capture candidates among catalogued NEOs is presented, which targets the L 2 region as the destination for the captured material. A robust methodology for systematic pruning of candidates and optimisation of capture trajectories through the stable manifold of planar Lyapunov orbits around L 2 has been implemented and tested. Five possible candidates for affordable asteroid retrieval missions have been identified among known NEOs, and the transfers to the L 2 region calculated. These transfers enable the capture of bodies with 2-8 meters diameter with modest propellant requirements. Because of the optimal departure dates, two of them have been identified as attractive targets for capture missions in the 2020-2030 time frame.