Item Details
Skip Navigation Links
   ActiveUsers:1077Hits:21169859Skip Navigation Links
Show My Basket
Contact Us
IDSA Web Site
Ask Us
Today's News
HelpExpand Help
Advanced search

In Basket
  Article   Article
 

ID137411
Title ProperRationale, strategies, and economics for exploration and mining of asteroids
LanguageENG
AuthorSommariva, Andrea
Summary / Abstract (Note)The development of off-world sources of critical minerals is creating an opportunity to transform space activity from a consumer of resources into sources of value. This article provides an overview of the rationale for and the feasibility of asteroid mining, based on current technology and information. It concludes that the mining of asteroids is a medium-term to long-term project (20 to 30 years) that requires a stepwise approach. An important step in the development of asteroid mining is the confirmation, through exploration, of the minerals’ abundance on the asteroids. A mission capturing and returning to lunar orbit a single 10-meter-diameter asteroid or a rock off the surface of a larger asteroid accomplishes this goal. This mission would also allow the testing of automated mining and processing equipment, reducing the risks of future large-scale asteroid mining operations. Suggested herein is that asteroids’ exploration be carried out through a partnership between space agencies and private space companies, whereby the two partners can achieve their strategic interests.
`In' analytical NoteAstropolitics Vol. 13, No.1; Jan-Apr 2015: p.25-42
Journal SourceAstropolitics Vol: 13 No 1
Key WordsStrategies ;  Space Agencies ;  Rationale ;  Mining of Asteroids ;  Private Space Companies


 
 
Media / Other Links  Full Text