What Mineral Resources Exist in Space?

In my humble opinion, in the foreseeable future, there may be only solar energy as a natural resource of real economic value in space. Because the mining business needs a lot of energy supply, and the possible mineral resources in the solar system are outside the Earth's orbit, and humans need to transport energy over. Not to mention various other life support resources. However, these practical difficulties do not prevent science fiction writers from describing a large number of interstellar mining, which involves a variety of content, and is even regarded as the main motive force for human development of the universe.

Space mining

Space Minerals, Space Mining

Space mining is rarely the subject, but it is the backdrop for many science fiction works. In the sci-fi movie "Comprehensive Memories", the protagonist Quail wants to chase and fight in a maze-like Mars mine. In "Outland", the protagonist, as a mine police officer, hosts justice on a Mars satellite. That mine produces titanium ore. The unlucky spaceship in the first episode of Alien was initially sent to carry 20 million tons of ore. In "Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back," heroes compete in the "City of Bespin" against the Black Lord. And this cloud city is built to collect certain minerals in the atmosphere.

In many space drama-style sci-fi works, the reason why an interstellar country is powerful is that it has certain mineral deposits. In "The Dune", spices become the source of the expansion of Araki's planet. This spice is not only fragrant, but also gives people special functions. In "The Aura of Extinction", Japanese writer Takumura puts the main background of the story on the planet Lakhchan. This planet is the rising star of the Earth Federation because it produces a kind of seaweed that can multiply on other planets and produce oxygen.