What is asteroid mining?
Asteroid mining is the process of extraction of valuable materials from relatively small and dense bodies orbiting the sun known as asteroids. While this process has been studied and speculated for a long time, it is an effort that has yet to be realized. In order to move asteroid mining from the sci -Fi and scientific reality, numerous technical, financial and legal challenges must be overcome. Different materials absorb and reflect light at different frequencies and each material has a spectroscopic signature to identify. Based on the results of research, although telescopic spectroscopy, scientists believe that asteroids are composed of a number of valuable minerals.
Some of these minerals are relatively common, such as iron and nickel. Others are probably more rare, such as gold and platinum. WeMámnost of materials locked in asteroids is one irritating reason that plans for mining asteroids have been developing for decades. However, it remains to see how this process can be sufficiently effective to bylo practical.
space colonization is another motivation for developing asteroid mining. Liberation from the country's gravity is a very energy -intensive and expensive task. It would be impractical to develop a considerable human presence in the universe forever by transporting all the necessary resources from the ground. At some point, colonists are expected to use extraterrestrial sources to produce what they need to live in space. Asteroid mining is one of the potential ways to get the raw materials they need.
Although the ways of obtaining resources from asteroids have been possible and continuously investigated, the mining of asteroids in practical is probably still far away. Technical challenges such as reliable transport, mining housing and how to extract materials in low gravity environments must still be resolved. International Legal Agreement, such as the Universe Agreement and domestic legislation in different countries,It also stands in the way of mining asteroids. It is not clear what economic model can be used due to the legal restrictions of their use. Legal uncertainty relating to the ownership of the sources of extracted limits of those who are vigilant about investing without a clearly established fruit claim given.
Although mining asteroids are not yet a scientific reality, it is extensively listed in the SCI -Fi. These include the story of Isaac Asim's "Catch That Rabbit", which is included in its , robot Collection and Robert Heinlein's novel The Rolling Stones . Other remarkable SCI authors like Poul Anderson, C. J. Cherryh, Ben Bova and others also published stories and novels representing asteroid mining. These types of works, albeit fictional, can serve as a creative outlet for thought experiments that could eventually affect the development of real life asteroids.