Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

Void · 2013-04-07 11:46:09

I see this as a positive and related to interplanetary transportation. I did not see a thread specifically on asteroid mining for that purpose, so I have made one.

http://www.space.com/20538-nasa-asteroi … nding.html

If this does occur, it will alter all the calculations of how to best do things.

GW Johnson · 2013-04-08 09:12:43

The fundamental idea seems to be to send a robot to capture a small asteroid and bring it back to cis-lunar space. That's close enough to go out there in a short Apollo-like trip in a space capsule, without endangering the crew too much.

I don't really see that as a step along the way to Mars, since they avoid entirely facing up to life support for long voyages such as Mars: living space to stay sane, food/water/waste handling, radiation protection, and avoiding zero-gravity-induced disease.

However, developing the hardware to carry this out will be useful and interesting. In particular, it's going to be very interesting to see what happens to the little asteroid inside the can, when they apply thrust to that can to bring it back.

I'd bet it falls completely apart into a sand/gravel/cobble/boulder pile inside the can. They'd better be prepared for that, and quit thinking of these things as "solid rocks".

Most of these things seem to be very unconsolidated, "bound" together only by gravity. Some are just glued together with a tad of ice. Only a tiny fraction are truly monolithic rocks. Big, little, no difference.

That's why most meteors explode in the air instead of cratering the surface.

GW

StarDreamer · 2013-04-08 09:22:00

Interesting GW .. The technique may be to have a heated cargo bay -- just thaw it out like ground beef and wait for it to crumble, but be prepared for trapped volatiles as well....

My theory years ago was that most meteors, like the Tunguska event and the one this year in Russia, explode due to hitting the false bottom of our atmosphere. They come in at such a speed that the air column in front of them compresses to sufficient density to act like a semi-solid surface and dissociate the material. We underestimate the power of aerobraking at high velocity. I think prolly the ONLY meteors to ever hit the crust and make craters are the metal or solid rock kind.

Terraformer · 2013-04-08 09:42:29

So, do the initial processing in transit? Process the volatiles automatically, and deliver the asteroid dust to Luna for further processing (which would be a lot easier if we actually had a decent Lunar base... jus' saying...).

StarDreamer · 2013-04-08 12:06:35

With luck, the volatiles will contribute to the spacecraft's own propulsion. An asteroid mine can be as dirty an industry as it pleases. The propulsion system should have the constitution of a barnyard goat or pig. Think of human landfill site energy sources. Generators that work on pig manure. That's the kind of engine a mining barge should use! Something that can get fuel out of anything we care to toss into it.

Terraformer · 2013-04-08 15:26:17

A mass accelerator, you mean? Or VASIMR - when it's plasma, it doesn't exactly matter what elements it contains.

We're looking at some form of ion drive, definitely - though I wouldn't count out electostatically accelerated fine dust...

Void · 2013-04-09 03:19:13

I choose to be optimistic, but I also will watch out for snake oil salespersons.

http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2013 … -cash?lite

http://www.policymic.com/articles/31155 … -space-ore

http://www.planetaryresources.com/careers/

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/ … id-mining/

http://www.space.com/19462-asteroid-min … birth.html

http://www.space.com/19380-asteroid-min … ition.html

http://news.discovery.com/space/asteroi … 130204.htm

Solar propulsion for such:
http://phys.org/news/2013-04-nanowires- … nergy.html

Imagine a solar panel more efficient than today's best solar panels, but using 10 000 times less material. This is what EPFL researchers expect given recent findings on these tiny filaments called nanowires. Solar technology integrating nanowires could capture large quantities of light and produce energy with incredible efficiency at a much lower cost. This technology is possibly the future for powering microchips and the basis for a new generation of solar panels.

The asteroid mining companies do not intend to utilize solar panels of the future, which might use 10,000 less mass?

However they say that they intend to make money by selling propellants and making high quality parts from Nickel.

I guess I will be hopeful and also keep an eye on those proposed low mass solar panels.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2023-12-12 14:17:45

2 hrs

Oversight Hearing | Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbD2ka_1tZI

The USA goals. The Chinese goals. Miners in Space and Supply Chains on Mars

'Moon Mining'

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#1 2013-04-07 11:46:09

Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

#2 2013-04-08 09:12:43

Re: Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

#3 2013-04-08 09:22:00

Re: Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

#4 2013-04-08 09:42:29

Re: Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

#5 2013-04-08 12:06:35

Re: Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

#6 2013-04-08 15:26:17

Re: Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

#7 2013-04-09 03:19:13

Re: Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

#8 2023-12-12 14:17:45

Re: Asteroid mining / Mass for propulsion & structures.

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