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#101 2004-07-08 21:39:59

smurf975
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From: Netherlands
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Actually I think space-ship-one design is based on something similair "feather design". But as with space-ship-one how will you enter Earths atmosphere with this design?


Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?

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#102 2004-07-08 21:51:06

BWhite
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From: Chicago, Illinois
Registered: 2004-06-16
Posts: 2,635

Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Actually I think space-ship-one design is based on something similair "feather design". But as with space-ship-one how will you enter Earths atmosphere with this design?

Wouldn't it start to auto-rotate as soon as it hit any atmosphere? Could you design the wing to provide lift to slow the acceleration from gravity?


Give someone a sufficient [b][i]why[/i][/b] and they can endure just about any [b][i]how[/i][/b]

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#103 2004-07-09 02:08:59

Rxke
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From: Belgium
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Posts: 3,669

Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

'simply' change the axis at wich the blades are oriented towards the 'seedpod,' like a heli does? Giving you more/less lift. Of course, this makes the design a lot more complicated...

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#104 2004-07-09 13:54:37

dicktice
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From: Nova Scotia, Canada
Registered: 2002-11-01
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Actually I think space-ship-one design is based on something similair "feather design". But as with space-ship-one how will you enter Earths atmosphere with this design?

I have been proposing high angles of attack up to 90-degrees, using main engine thrust to maintain controlled height decrease with the atmosphere gradually slowing you down together with decreasing angle of attack, until subsonic flying speed is reached. So far, only  good ole Burt seems to go for that method of return. You gotta love that guy!

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#105 2004-07-10 11:49:11

Grypd
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From: Scotland, Europe
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Posts: 1,879

Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Would using a heat shield made of Lunar titanium Oxide be of sufficient resistance with a feather design allow cargo to be dropped to Earth.

Also would the cargo delivered be of enough financial gain this way to make it worth the cost.

These Heat shielded designs to save cost could be shot at the Earth by Mass driver. Or placed in a Lunar lagrange point by Mass driver for return to earth orbit, then dropped down to earth.


Chan eil mi aig a bheil ùidh ann an gleidheadh an status quo; Tha mi airson cur às e.

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#106 2004-07-10 13:00:00

RobertDyck
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

The problem with Lunar titanium oxide is that it isn't from the same asteroid as the precious metals. To make it practical, a heat shield made of Lunar material should carry Lunar cargo. Can you think of something that can be made from Lunar material that can be sold for profit?

Profitable enterprises so far:
- M-type asteroid precious metals
- M-type asteroid steel used for large space structures
- M-type asteroid inconel used for atmospheric entry capsules
- C-type asteroid or dead comet ice for fuel
- photovoltaic arrays (requires precision refining and manufacturing)
- rocket engines and manoeuvring thrusters (requires rapid prototype style manufacturing)
- Lunar aluminium & titanium for spacecraft
- Lunar telescopes: interferometry & radio
- space tourism: joyrides and orbital hotels
- garbage collection: removing non-functional satellites and broken pieces from orbit
- space tug: reusable craft to move satellites to different orbit, or re-boost a space station
- satellite repair (requires a working space tug)

Notice I haven't included microchip manufacture. Extreme precision for electron beam lithography demands a zero vibration environment; that's difficult to achieve in space. Exotic alloys that can only mix in microgravity have proven unnecessary and not as valuable as the labour and industrial support from our high tech economy on Earth. We may not have superconducting electronics, but we do have extreme miniaturization. As an example, in the early 1980s people started to explore crystal technology for electronics. The argument was that light travels at the speed of light, not the 0.3 times light speed that electricity travels through bare wires. However, miniaturization has reduced conductors to less than the width of a single wavelength of light. What does it matter if signals travel 3 times as fast if the pathway is more than 3 times as long? Optronics or photonics or crystal technology (pick your buzz word) is actually slower than miniature electronics we have today. As another alternative, in the late 1970s supercomputers were built with coaxial cables since signals travel 0.9 times the speed of light. But compare a cable of 1 to 3 foot length to a conductor inside a microchip. Again, signal speed doesn't matter if you increase pathway length by a factor greater than the speed increase. The next leap in electronics will be quantum electronics. The first quantum circuit was demonstrated a long time ago, I read about it in the early 1980s in a back issue of Scientific American, I think it was a 1978 issue. A quantum wire can send a signal instantaneously; it isn't limited to the speed of light. The problem with quantum wires is getting them small enough; they have to be so small that two electrons cannot pass each other, roughly 3 atoms wide. Modern electronics is getting close to small enough to make it in production volumes, not just a lab experiment.

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#107 2004-07-10 13:05:07

smurf975
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

The first quantum circuit was demonstrated a long time ago, I read about it in the early 1980s in a back issue of Scientific American, I think it was a 1978 issue. A quantum wire can send a signal instantaneously; it isn't limited to the speed of light.

I don't get it.

How can it go faster then light?


Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?

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#108 2004-07-10 13:13:58

RobertDyck
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

A quantum wire uses a unique feature of quantum mechanics. Think of a cardboard tube that Christmas wrapping paper comes on. Fill that with ping pong balls. The tube represents a quantum wire, the ping pong balls represent the valence electron of each atom. Then push in another ping pong ball. As you do all the ping pong balls will move over; once you finish pushing in the extra ball, the ball at the other end will have fallen out. This happens in a quantum wire: all valence electrons move from one atom to the next atom in perfect sync and faster than 90% the speed of light. Total propagation delay is not related to wire length. This doesn't move any matter or energy faster than the speed of light, but it creates an effect that moves information faster than the speed of light. Think of it as a loop hole in the laws of physics.

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#109 2004-07-10 13:51:45

smurf975
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

A quantum wire uses a unique feature of quantum mechanics. Think of a cardboard tube that Christmas wrapping paper comes on. Fill that with ping pong balls. The tube represents a quantum wire, the ping pong balls represent the valence electron of each atom. Then push in another ping pong ball. As you do all the ping pong balls will move over, once you finish pushing in the extra ball, the ball at the other end will have fallen out. This happens in a quantum wire: all valence electrons move from one atom to the next atom in perfect sync and faster than 90% the speed of light. Total propagation delay is not related to wire length. This doesn't move any matter or energy faster than the speed of light, but it creates an effect that moves information faster than the speed of light. Think of it as a loop hole in the laws of physics.

Good explanation, it proofs what I think. Only someone who truly understands the subject is able to explain some difficult simply.
---

It took me some time to grasp this idea and I know I still don't understand it. But it sounds like voltages and quantum entanglement. I don't know how voltages are influenced by light speed but I know that entanglement is not.
---

Do you know if it’s possible for electrons to travel through space/time without a medium such as atoms? Like light (photons) does.


Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?

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#110 2004-07-10 16:11:23

Grypd
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

RobertDyck Quote July10, 15:00

We may not have superconducting electronics

We do have superconducters but they rely on extreme cold enviroments, If I remember we have one that is reasonable at about -80 to -100 degrees centigrade. It was proposed to use this medium to be the powerlines of the Moon and a possible ultimate power storage battery.

We could use the Moon to mass driver stores to these asteroids ie Food Oxygen etc in the containers these get shot back to the earth we now have triangular trade. If power is easy to get on the Moon it will be cheap to make these boxes and to launch them to the asteroids.


Chan eil mi aig a bheil ùidh ann an gleidheadh an status quo; Tha mi airson cur às e.

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#111 2004-07-10 17:12:29

RobertDyck
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Do you know if it’s possible for electrons to travel through space/time without a medium such as atoms? Like light (photons) does.

Electrons are subatomic particles, so they can travel through space just as any other particle. In fact, the picture tube of television sets or computer monitors fire an electron beam through vacuum onto a phosphor screen. When hit with electrons, the phosphor glows. High speed electrons are called beta radiation. Beta radiation isn't very dangerous since electrons have so little mass, and therefore carry so little energy. I believe the outer layer of human skin is enough to block beta radiation. But a quantum wire works by channelling electrons so they can't move sideways, which forces them to move along the wire in perfect sync. Electrons through space would just travel at their normal speed, slower than the speed of light.

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#112 2004-07-12 05:41:06

smurf975
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

While I was browsing google groups about: Scalar Electromagnetics, Electrogravitation and http://www.americanantigravity.com/hutchison.html]The Hutchison Effect. I found http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&l … num=5]this post that may explain in another way what RobertDyck is talking about with quantum FTL* pipelines.

*Faster then light


Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?

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#113 2004-07-12 09:37:44

RobertDyck
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

The reason I brought up quantum wires was to state that exotic alloys that require zero gravity to make are expensive and unnecessary. Normal electronic manufacture on Earth will always be easier and cheaper, and development of new electronics is proceeding so fast that an exotic space alloy would be obsolete before you could seriously plan an orbital manufacturing test.

More profitable enterprises:
- transporting colonists from Earth orbit to Mars (long term)
- lifting satellites into Earth orbit (already done)
- space taxi, lift astronauts into Earth orbit (Shuttle, Soyuz, CEV)

Of all these enterprises, the one that doesn't require developing space infrastructure to build a market is precious metals. Other than launch services, but that's already a crowded market (you can argue how competitive it is). Asteroid mining requires some infrastructure to operate, such as in-space harvested propellant and in-space manufactured cargo return capsules; but building such infrastructure will help other enterprises. In-space fuel and in-space industrial metals are a nice by-product.

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#114 2017-03-16 10:33:50

knightdepaix
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Registered: 2014-07-07
Posts: 239

Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

About the asteroid mining, how about exploiting near earth objects to eliminate the threat and produce a profit miscellaneously. Instead of the conventional smelting technology, can the mineral be grouped into pure substances by newer technology, for example nanotechnology? Once pure substances were produced, they can be smelted with conventional technology.

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#115 2017-03-16 14:58:36

SpaceNut
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Posts: 28,747

Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Wow another old topic from when we were going beyond LEO that got sidelined for a decade plus now.....

Also I need to fix the topic for the shifting and artifacts from the old forums software revisions.

Edit
finally finished fixing all of this topics posts. At 19:55

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#116 2018-12-28 10:39:42

Void
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Nice work Spacenut!

I looked for a place to discuss recent developments towards asteroid mining, and you had fixed this old one up.

Now perhaps I will annoy you a bit, but I a thinking about active cooling, for, ships like SpaceX's "Starship", and perhaps using Methane.  I know that you may prefer water, but at this time for this iteration of Starship, active cooling with Methane seems to be the plan for now.

This is a nice video.  Defined information, and not too long.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdR9Hit9rco

So, far thinking about asteroid mining seems to want to go after the water, and rare minerals.  Materials like Iron that are more common on Earth, would most likely not be transported back, but could be made into mining infrastructures. 

I want to add Carbon.  To haul water back to locations of dense population, you then expend a lot of energy to bring the Oxygen back.

You want to get Carbon and Hydrogen back to the Earth/Moon orbits, and maybe even Mars orbit, provided Phobos and Demos are bone dry.  If they are Carbon and Hydrogen holding, then you of course don't bring Methane to Mars orbit, except in the tanks of a transiting spaceship.  (There may well be a case for bringing up Methane from the surface of Mars).

Some people here have noted that the Moon seems to have water to offer, and I will buy into that.  So, accessing the Moon may not involve Methane very much.

But here is what I am thinking:
-Instead of only bringing water back, Methane would be a good choice, as you could tank up your Starship with that, and with Oxygen from water, (Source of water Moon?  Asteroid?) Or maybe Oxygen from the Moon itself.

I think that water for active cooling may have the problem that space can be cold, and aero burns very hot.  So water could freeze and damage your active cooling structures, and the system which would feed the water.

Methane should be safer that way.

So, I am thinking that a cargo ship coming into Earth from interplanetary space, could use aero capture, and other methods to achieve Earth orbit, and use active cooling on it's heat shield to produce a more effective way to get the cargo where we would want it to be.  Of course precious metals might be handled different, but I think bringing them along is OK, you would just use some in orbit and then bring some down as needed by another ship.

So, I am thinking of a cargo ship which may not land at all.  But perhaps it would have swappable parts that could go to the surface of Earth for servicing some times.


As a propulsion propellant, I prefer Oxygen.  If you have a cargo ship with Methane tanks, (Methane easier to stabilize than Hydrogen), then you can have chemical engines.

I also want to consider Oxygen by itself.  Either tossed out with a mass driver, or I think maybe an electric rocket.

Good chances the cargo ship would have multiple power systems.  Electric and chemical.

……


I will make the point that if their are 17,000 to 18,000 neo asteroids (Only some accessible), then perhaps there will be a large number of Near Mars Objects (Asteroids).  So Mars should definitely fit in, and of course eventually Mars may be a stepping stone to the Main Belt and Trojans.


Another much longer video:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Ho … &FORM=VIRE

Time for lunch.

Done.

Last edited by Void (2018-12-28 11:14:55)


Done.

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#117 2018-12-28 15:07:22

Void
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Some afterthoughts.

I recall that it would be possible to impact the Moon with water ice in the nighttime, and at least half of the ice would remain, the other part taking the heat of impact away.

There is no reason to do that since Hydrogen is apparently available in locations on the Moon.

However Carbon is much more thermally tolerant than water ice.  So, I speculate that if you impacted some location on the Moon with Carbon from asteroids, you could have a lot of the delivered product be harvestable.   

But it may be fair to say that perhaps the Moon should focus on Oxygen and Hydrogen as propellants.  Methane might be available by the process I have previously described, but perhaps not money wise.  Still if there is to be habitations on the Moon a Carbon input may be useful for other purposes.

……

I am also thinking that when an asteroid is mined out, why not use the residual materials, to produce habitat.  Then sail that by the solar wind slowly outwards?  That might be a fine way to light fires outward.  First Mars (Although it should be habituated by that time already), but even further out.  Even to the Oort cloud.  Of course you need an energy method out there.

Done.

Last edited by Void (2018-12-28 15:10:22)


Done.

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#118 2018-12-28 15:22:01

SpaceNut
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

The moons cold sinks are in the pole deep craters that are hiding water and the idea of lunar or mars orbiting fuel depots of methane and Lox are not a bad thing as you can spend the fuel getting cargo from there surface at the max levels spending the launch fuel and still be able to reach you destination via refueling at the depot.

Using ion drives to send the mining cargo to its destination leaves more fuel to transfer to the depot and other resource that do get mined.

Using active cooling and vent powered gas releasings to aid in recapture of the losses from boiloff.

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#119 2018-12-29 14:15:14

Void
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane

I am speculating here that the needed cold to keep Methane liquid is attainable by sunshades and radiative cooling of a tank, perhaps even near Earth.  I am thinking that to turn it into a slush, may not be beyond bounds.

So, as may be necessary, for a actively cooled heat shield, perhaps Methane would have to be used to cool through pores.  But I like to at least have a shot at something more.

Water ice is, I believe relatively unique, in that it becomes lighter than the liquid phase.

I do not know about Methane Ice.  I will need to be told.

But suppose a simple tank of Methane slush, perhaps stainless steel, is doing an aero capture.  If the ice of slush of Methane is heavier than the liquid of Methane, then we might hope that the very strong g forces of aero capture will press the slush crystals against the inside of the tank on the windward side.  How many g's  quite a lot perhaps.  So, you would have a phase change on the inside of the tank, and of course massive heat on the outside of the tank.

For the ship, I would have a separate tank for liquid Methane fuel to be burned with Oxygen to produce thrust as may be useful during the trip.

So just perhaps by such a method you can minimize the venting of Methane in order to survive Aero Capture.

But this will be dependent on being able to produce an appropriate slush, and that the ice of Methane is heavier than the liquid of Methane.
This I do not know so far.

If this is true, then the nature of the slush must be fluid for best effects in a 'g' force.

But you still may have a backup should a void appear smile, I think, where if ice crystals are not proximate enough to a part of the heat shield, perhaps liquid Methane would boil at that point and still cool the heat shield.  The bubbles of boiling should travel "Upward" in the 'g' force field, and would encounter slush or liquid and should be containable as to build up of tank pressure.

I just prefer to avoid boiling as it might damage the interior of the heat shield.  Still in that case the cargo ship might survive.

So in desperation you may have two phase changes to help survival.  If necessary, under the event of pressure build up, you could also explore the option of venting gas.  However the objective is to avoid such a need of venting of gas.

Lots to discover here.

Done.

Last edited by Void (2018-12-29 14:34:37)


Done.

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#120 2018-12-29 14:45:08

Void
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

I am going to post something I thought of while doing my stretches after a very strenuous workout at a gym.

But I suggest any reader help me out also with post #119 just preceding this.  I feel it may/may not have significant potential.  I would like to know.

……

Here I am going to take the notion of ballistic capture and adapt it to asteroid mining.  Not a unique idea. 

I will also suggest the exploration of solar wind propulsion to put such an asteroid appropriately in time and in space that it could encounter a ballistic capture situation.  But I do not exclude other methods to propel the asteroid to such a ballistic capture either as assistance or a replacement.

……

I think there may be a risk reward calculation.  For Earth, we might choose to be shy about this method.  For other planets maybe not so much shy.  Perhaps other planets could be used in risky situations, Earth only in the most certain situations.

Initially I have thought of Mars, Earth, Venus, and perhaps Mercury.  But other planets might come into play at some point.

For Mars, I would be hesitant to do it, if it turns out that Phobos and Demos have what we might otherwise extract from captured asteroids.

For Venus, I think it may be quite the thing, if you could do it.  Propellants building materials.  Maybe even dust to create a long term nuclear winter situation.  This would not do more than perhaps mitigate the Sulfuric Acid Clouds problem, (Perhaps).

I am thinking that you would have a inertia of temperature.  The lower layers of atmosphere being hot, will stay hot for some time.  But if you chill the cloud tops with a Nuclear Winter type situation, then you create more Virga (Rain that does not reach the ground).

Sulfuric Acid encountering the hot layers below decomposes into water vapor and Sulfur Dioxide.  U.V. recomposes that into Sulfuric Acid.

If you can create a proper balance of power, perhaps Water Vapor and Sulfur Dioxide can dominate.  You block much of the U.V. you cause the decomposition of Sulfuric Acid into Sulfur Dioxide and Water Vapor.

So then you may have an environment more friendly to "Cloud Cities".

……


But that would come later.  I rather prefer before that an orbital civilization from Asteroids.

So then in any case from Mars and Venus may come the materials that Earth may need as it runs out of them.

Perhaps even Mercury.

I'm going to go screw off for a while.  Way to nerded and geeked.

Fun:
https://www.space.com/42690-asteroid-be … overy.html


Done.

Last edited by Void (2018-12-29 15:07:09)


Done.

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#121 2018-12-31 12:20:29

Void
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

What are Phobos and Demos?

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Na … &FORM=VIRE

Having learned quite a few new things recently, such as Bennu has water and that is in hydrated clays, and that a carbonaceous asteroid would have such water, and also would have some valuable rare Earth minerals, and perhaps precious metals, and of course iron and nickel, it seems foolish to not find out what Phobos and Demos are while working with Mars.  It seem from the above, that Europe and Russia have a plan for that around 2024, which could be about the time SpaceX was visiting Mars with Starship.

From what I viewed in the above video, they are either captured asteroids, or a mix of an impactor of Mars and Martian Mantle.

In either case I hold out hope for hydrated minerals.  After all panspermia holds that ejected rocks may not be heated so high that microbes would die.  So to me that indicates that some hydrated mineral chunks from an impactor or Mars Mantle may have survived.

In that video they do not seem to consider the possibility of a "Ballistic Capture" of Phobos and/or Demos.  I think it rather probable over the time scale of 4.5 Billion years, and particularly during the era of the great bombardment.  And Mars also being near to the asteroid belt and Jupiter makes it even more likely I think.

I wonder if something like Bennu could be captured to Martian orbit, if its highest point of orbit would have put it where the Martian gravity well would draw it in, possibly into an orbit and not an encounter with the atmosphere of Mars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101955_Bennu
Quote:

Aphelion
1.3559 au (202.84 Gm)
Perihelion
0.89689 au (134.173 Gm)

And these values probably change over a long time scale under the influence of the gravity wells of planets.

So anyway if the Aphelion occurred in front of the Mars orbit, where Mars would approach, during the Aphelion of Bennu, Bennu would be traveling slower than Mars so Mars could catch it into it's gravity well.  Of course they would also need to be very close to the same orbital plane.

Phobos and Demos appear to be Carbonaceous_chondrite, but may actually be the results of an impact where an asteroid impacted Mars.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonaceous_chondrite

Under either of those theories then I have to suppose that rare Earth, and Platinum and Gold may be present from the asteroid materials.
In either case there may be hydrated clays.

So, although mining asteroid NEO's is possibly requiring less fuel, never-the-less, for Phobos and Demos, you have the Mars effort.

Mars has Argon in it's atmosphere.  A "Starship" could lift it.  Then the argon could be used to drag rare Earths and Platinum and Gold back to Earth.  Of course Earth has Argon also.

And there is a strong suspicion of Hydrated Clays, and Carbon.  In fact if these Moons were Carbonaceous Chondrite, then there may also be tars in the interior.

So, actually I think it would be silly not to look for a Gold Rush in this situation.

……

I have already stated that I think that SpaceX should just take a fuel depot along with Starship for the first trip.  Maybe even avoid an aeroburn.  I know that would require a heck of amount of propellants.  But perhaps they could bring along some probes to go to Phobos and Demos.  Push them out prior to a aero capture, or just use propellant to get into orbit.  Then eject them to their purpose.

And if the scientific community could get it's act together, (Which would surprise me), they could also send along with starship, a sample return mission from Mars, and also perhaps one or both moons of Mars.

And by the way I am thinking ballistic capture actually.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_capture
Quote:

Ballistic capture is a method of achieving orbit around a planet or moon - a spacecraft moving at a lower orbital velocity than the target celestial body is inserted into a similar orbit, allowing the planet or moon to move toward it and gravitationally snag it into orbit around the celestial body with no need for an insertion burn.[1][2]
It was first used by the Japanese spacecraft Hiten in 1991 as a method to get to the Moon.[1]
It is predicted to be
safer, as there is no time critical insertion burn,
can launch at almost any time, rather than having to wait for a narrow window of opportunity,
would be more fuel efficient for some missions.
The conventional method is a Hohmann transfer orbit, which does involve an insertion burn.

I visualize it as being as if you threw a ball into the air and it just reached its high point in front of a vacuum device which moving faster than it would suck it in.  (That's something like it).  The vacuum being the gravity well of Mars overtaking the ballistic object, and then the interaction of gravity between the two objects would be swapped.  The Starship being far less massive, the Mass of Mar with it's much larger gravity well would virtually totally dominate the situation.

Anyway gold on the California coast was a very big thing.  I should think that valuable Metals, and also the other potential materials of Phobos and Demos, are an extremely important item to answer.


…..

If the moons of Mars were mined, I should think that it would be OK to bring materials back in Starship, because per Dr. Zubrin, the objective is to move stuff and people to Mars, that to build settlements.  The ships when going back will be relatively empty.

Done.

Last edited by Void (2018-12-31 13:14:02)


Done.

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#122 2018-12-31 13:14:36

Void
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Posts: 6,976

Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Quote:

Dune Quotes. “Without change something sleeps inside us, and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.” “Whether a thought is spoken or not it is a real thing and it has power," Tuek said. "You might find the line between life and death among the Fremen to be too sharp and quick.” “The mind commands the body and it obeys.
Dune Quotes by Frank Herbert
www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3634639-dune

But also their is something at the core of us.  The digestive tract (A worm).  It programs the brain what to want in many cases.

At our center is.....What's inside of the worm.... smile

Last edited by Void (2018-12-31 13:17:15)


Done.

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#123 2018-12-31 16:27:26

SpaceNut
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Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

There will be a priority of materials that are required for the mining operation which if not an automated vehicle will be to support man and then for refueling with anything else found of value being the next tier for mission profiting from going to mine in the first place..

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#124 2019-01-01 19:59:45

Void
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Posts: 6,976

Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

I should think that if Phobos and/or demos are proven to be captured asteroids of the Carbonaceous chondrite type, or even if they are only partially remnants of such, then the possibility of massive investment in mining and habitation of Mars will emerge quickly.

We are scheduled to run out of rare earth minerals in a few decades.

While this could produce an international ruckus, I do think something reasonable could be worked out that included everyone on Earth in some way.

A International/Interplanetary Company, (First One?), with shares which Nations and Economic Entities could buy into.  Martians also.

To be avoided however would be any notion of non-technologic people dominators demanding tribute for no service to the cause rendered.

(The Little Red Hen Story).  I am sure Russia and China and India and Europe and pretty much everyone else would want in.

And companies like SpaceX would profit fantastically I believe.

Even if it turns out Phobos and Demos have little or no water, it is obvious that Water could be brought up from Mars.  Also Methane if needed.  Most like Oxygen could come from Phobos and Demos.

But even dry bodies may very well have rare earths, and Platinum and Gold.

And Iron and Nickel to build orbital facilities with.

I would say well worth a exploratory mission, to get the real actual facts of potentials.

Done.

Last edited by Void (2019-01-01 20:09:38)


Done.

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#125 2019-10-11 18:20:29

knightdepaix
Member
Registered: 2014-07-07
Posts: 239

Re: Asteroid Mining - profit from space

Can the same or similar technology and sciences be used to clear and collect space debris, junk and garbase in earth orbit for reuse and recycling?

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