Star bodies such as the moon, Mars, asteroids and comets contain a large number of valuable resources, which have attracted great attention from many researchers and the business community. They hope that one day they can be mined and mined to support the space economy, which will be no small feat. What are the current challenges of mining off Earth? What other exciting developments are there?
Since the beginning of history, humans have had endless imagination about the moon. In recent decades, with the advancement of space technology and the increasingly scarce resources on the earth, people have begun to turn their attention to the moon, and there has once again been a wave of lunar landings in the world. Slightly different from the past, this time the powerful countries are eyeing the huge resource opportunities in the moon and space. Outer space has become a new battlefield for global competition.
In recent years, there has been another wave of moon landing craze in the world. Photo credit: David Besh/Pexels
What kind of minerals will be mined on the moon? according to”BBC“Reported that there are three main resources on the moon: water, helium and rare earths. NASA estimates that there are 1 million tons of the helium isotope “Helium-3” on the moon. According to Reuters, this isotope, which is rare on Earth, can power nuclear fusion reactors and does not produce dangerous nuclear waste because it is not radioactive. In addition, there are scandium, yttrium and 15 kinds of lanthanide elements on the moon, which are rare earth metals that can be used in advanced technologies such as smartphones and computers.
Is mining in outer space possible?There are still many technical and economic challenges
Lunar mining is similar to mining on Earth, using excavators to excavate rocks on the lunar surface or using submersible shield machines to detect veins.
In 2008, India’s “Chandrayaan-1” discovered water on the lunar surface for the first time. This discovery was crucial for humans who dreamed of landing on the moon. In order to reduce launch costs, the most convenient way is to launch from Using local materials in space, water is an important resource for human survival. It can not only help reduce costs, but the oxygen and hydrogen decomposed from water can also provide the fuel required for rocket propulsion.
There is water on the moon. Although humans can stay for a long time, life support equipment, radiation avoidance and additional launch costs still need to be considered. Because the launch cost is very high, the equipment must be light enough to be effective.
Current research and development is heading towards remote-controlled, automated mining robots. Even mining operations on Earth are not yet fully automated. To realize the dream of space mining, people must continue to improve the performance of robots.
Optimistic about the huge resource opportunities in the moon and space, countries have invested in research and development of space mining and resource exploration. The picture shows the U.S. Apollo 17 moon landing program in 1972. Photo source: NASA/Unsplash
Researchers from the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales in Sydney have proposed a biomining method that uses bacteria and minerals to produce gases and then uses detectors to collect these gases.
Another challenge with remote mining is distance. The farther a star is from Earth, the longer it takes to convey a message. According to scientific research, the Lunar Distance (LD, meaning the distance from the center of the moon to the center of the earth) is about 384,400 kilometers. For example, if a command is transmitted to a probe on Mars, the transmission time will be delayed by up to 40 minutes, regardless of whether the transmission is successful.
In comparison, the communication time between the moon and the earth only has a delay of about 2.7 seconds, which is a relatively easy distance for remote mining.
However, from a practical perspective, priority should still be given to the feasibility of allowing humans to stay on the moon for a long time and to find a stable supply of resources, such as water, that astronauts need, and these resources should ideally be recycled.
Outer space has become a new battlefield for resource competition, and the international community has laid out the space economic market.
Although it is still too early to talk about space mining, there are still many companies that are optimistic about the business opportunities and have invested in the research and development of space mining, space resource exploration and other applied technologies.
For example, NASA is studying the possibility of using 3D printing to build buildings on the moon; the United StatesOffWorldThe company is working on developing industrial robots that can operate on the earth, the moon, asteroids and Mars; the British company Metalysis has developed technology that can extract oxygen from lunar rocks or dust.
The American company OffWorld is working on developing industrial robots that can mine and operate on the earth and other stars. Photo credit:OffWorld
Space mining may also change the way satellites are managed. Orbit Fab, an American space company, is developing a satellite refueling system that uses mineral resources collected in space to make raw materials for advance deployment of satellites that will run out of fuel and deorbit in 10 to 20 years to avoid the generation of more space junk.
On an environmental level, space mining may help reduce the amount of mining required on Earth, but only if mining in space does not increase the number of rocket launches, or the resources obtained can be sent to Earth for use.
Currently, lunar mining still faces many technical and economic challenges, and it is still unknown whether it can be expanded to other planets. It is conceivable that as the space economy develops, more launch operations will inevitably be required, and the impact and concerns on the environment remain to be seen.
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