Jan. 22, 2013
Asteroids potentially rich in precious metals or water as ice, stir the envy of investors in the United States
Deep Space Industries plans to introduce from 2015 a fleet of probes to explore and exploit crossing asteroids near Earth. "Use the resources in space is the only way to ensure sustainable spatial development," said the CEO of the company, David Gump.
"We discovered over 900 new asteroids passing near the Earth every year and these objects can be as important for space activities of this century that were deposits of iron ore from Minnesota for the automotive industry in Detroit twentieth century, "he says in a statement.
Deep Space Industries, FireFlies probes
Deep Space Industries begin to evaluate promising targets for mining with small spacecraft baptized 25 kilos "FireFlies" (image above) which should be launched in 2015 for missions from two to six months. Society in search of customers and investors, working with NASA and other companies and organizations to identify asteroids with the greatest potential.
Power plants on orbits
Deep Space Industries, Power plants on orbits
These probes will be economical, says Deep Space Industries: made with elements of low-cost miniaturized satellite, they will be launched at low cost launchers carrying on board already big communications satellites.
These probes will be economical, says Deep Space Industries: made with elements of low-cost miniaturized satellite, they will be launched at low cost launchers carrying on board already big communications satellites.
From 2016, the company will begin to launch probes heavier than 32 kilos, "Dragonflies" ("Dragonfly"), capable of reaching an asteroid and return to Earth samples from 27 to 68 pounds during journeys during two to four years.
Deep Space Industries, Dragonflies probe
In 10 years, Deep Space Industries plans to exploit asteroids for their metals and other materials that will build large platforms of communication to replace satellites. In the longer term, the company is betting on the deployment orbit solar power plants that feed the Earth.
Finally, the creators of Deep Space Industries rely extract platinum asteroid for use on Earth especially in control systems. Already in April 2012, a group of wealthy investors including billionaire Larry Page, Google CEO, unveiled the first company prospecting and mining asteroids, Planetary Resources.
Deep Space Industries, Micro Gravity Foundry concept
A wealth ... platinum
The extraction of wealth by these entrepreneurs have many benefits for mankind and one day generate economic activity weighing tens of billions of dollars annually. A single asteroid 500 meters long as a platinum that the entire quantity of the metal mined in the history of humanity, according to the creators of Planetary Resources.
(Editor's Note: this is a problem that mining companies do not think maybe if rare metals (Gold, Platinum etc ...) are no longer, they will lose their values and risk cause a global monetary crash, it will revisit our value systems.)
Deep Space Industries, Harvestor concept
In addition, near-Earth asteroids, which contain a lot of water ice, serve "so oasis" for shipments to distant space exploration, providing the necessary water and fuel.
Of the more than 9000 asteroids identified by NASA whose orbit passes in the vicinity of Earth, more than 1,500 have access as easy as the moon, according to investors.
Planetary Resources has already developed space telescopes that will be placed in low Earth orbit by 2014 to identify promising asteroids. The company is also planning to launch small spacecraft to go explore.
Planetary Resources logo
Space telescopes that track the asteroids in search of valuable materials and water probes that are going to meet these giant rocks floating in space for mine, fueling stations to support future colonization of space ... Today it is science fiction, but can be much longer.
Indeed, January 22, 2013 a new company with the aim of achieving realize these scenarios will be announced at the Santa Monica Museum of Flying, California. Currently few details have been released but we know that this company is founded by the former president of Astrobotic Technology (a company that aims to send a rover on the moon in 2015 for the Google Lunar Xprize) and it planning to conceive it the first fleet of probes prospectrices. And this is not the first to announce such plans: April 24, 2012, the company has also unveiled Planetary Resources an ambitious program to make it the first mining company in the world.
The company was founded by Peter Diamandis and Erik Anderson, two figures of private space and is funded by several billionaires that Larry Page, one of the founders of Google. Planetary Resources Plan is to achieve operation of an asteroid through three phases. The first is to send several space telescopes in Earth orbit, the ARKYD SERIES 100 (image below), to identify interesting targets.
Planetary Resources ARKYD SERIES 100
Then, phase 2 involves sending probes ARKYD SERIES 200 or "interceptor" to fly asteroids identified and studied in detail. Finally, ARKYD SERIES 300 or "rendezvous prospector" will be sent to the chosen target to accurately determine its composition, shape, surface composition, density ... After this last step in the mining itself will begin with robots whose details have not yet been released. The first probe ARKYD SERIES 100 should be launched before 2015.
NASA Artist's concept of the asteroid retrieval
Finally, and we enter an area even closer to science fiction, NASA scientists have devised a mission would be to bring an asteroid directly into lunar orbit by capturing it with a kind of container and the propelling means of an ion thruster (image above). Once in orbit around the Moon, it would be easier to send probes to explore or even send astronauts on its surface. This mission is a hypothetical concept proposed by engineers and is not a validated project by NASA.
Related links:
Deep Space Industries: http://deepspaceindustries.com/
Planetary Resources: http://www.planetaryresources.com/
Images, Text, Credits: ATS / Deep Space Industries / Planetary Resources / NASA / Orbiter.ch Aerospace.
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