Google execs and James Cameron backing asteroid mining project
80 replies, posted
I hope we visit Pandora next.
Hi, I'm a miner in the game EVE Online. I have several months experience controlling manned space vessels and I would like to apply for a job.
[QUOTE=Within;35633494]Hi, I'm a miner in the game EVE Online. I have several months experience controlling manned space vessels and I would like to apply for a job.[/QUOTE]
Excellent, may i see your degree in "clicking on a floaty rock and letting lasers do the job-ology"?
Oh lord FUTUREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE FUTUREEEEEEEEEEE. But really raids on mining airships. Oh lordy <3
The costs would be astronomical. We're literally never going to run out of whatever precious minerals we need right here on Earth. It's just a question of when will it become profitable to mine an asteroid than the ground under us. I don't see that time coming soon.
The only way I can see asteroid-mining becoming profitable in the near-ish future is that we develop a self-constructing, self-expanding, self-maintaining relatively low initial investment robotic mining colony. A constant stream of re-supply and mineral fetching rockets just doesn't seem feasible.
OH YEEEEAHHH SPACE MINING
5 years later
When are they going to start?
[QUOTE=StackOfPoo;35635901]The costs would be astronomical. We're literally never going to run out of whatever precious minerals we need right here on Earth. It's just a question of when will it become profitable to mine an asteroid than the ground under us. I don't see that time coming soon.
The only way I can see asteroid-mining becoming profitable in the near-ish future is that we develop a self-constructing, self-expanding, self-maintaining relatively low initial investment robotic mining colony. A constant stream of re-supply and mineral fetching rockets just doesn't seem feasible.[/QUOTE]
You do realise that all f block elements that aren't radioactive already are probably going to run out within 20 years if we're lucky?
[QUOTE=NorthernFall;35630306]aeiou[/QUOTE]
You know, it'd actually be pretty entertaining to mine some rare, valuable materials with powerful machinery in motherfucking space while screaming 'uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu john madden john madden 999 999' through a Text-To-Speech radio.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;35629869]If this succeeds, it'll completely restructure the world's economy.
It'll virtually end the prices of half the world's industries by over abundance of supplies.[/QUOTE]There's still the cost of mining, refining and transporting these resources. Only way it'll be worthwhile is for resources we're currently running really low on (like rare earths), or they figure out a safe way to get one into the Earth's orbit. This does mean our very-long term metals situation is secure at the very least, though; so when the time comes where resources rather than money are the limiting factor of human development, we're sorted.
Will we be able to develop a new alloy with plasma?
If so, sign me up for Space Station 13.
James Cameron:
Makes movie about evil humans destroying other living beings' resources in space
Backs project for searching for resources in space
i can see a pattern in here
[QUOTE=Kendra;35636469]You do realise that all f block elements that aren't radioactive already are probably going to run out within 20 years if we're lucky?[/QUOTE]
Run out as in become too difficult and expensive to mine/acquire for any mass production purposes, maybe. Run out as in not be available at all when somebody really needs it, no. For pretty much every mineral mines are only abandoned because mineral concentrations become too low for proper profit.
In today's relatively ambitionless world I can see nations and companies rather forget about those minerals/elements than start up gigantic R&D projects for extraterrestial mining operations that likely would bring little to no profit.
[QUOTE=Mingebox;35629737]Are there asteroids made out of solid gold or something? It seems minding just a small amount of material would be extremely expensive.[/QUOTE]
I'm more concerned about the impact space mining will have on precious metals like gold and silver.
A huge influx of gold mined from space could obliterate my wealth which consists completely of gold and is buried in my back yard.
[QUOTE=StackOfPoo;35638922]Run out as in become too difficult and expensive to mine/acquire for any mass production purposes, maybe. Run out as in not be available at all when somebody really needs it, no. For pretty much every mineral mines are only abandoned because mineral concentrations become too low for proper profit.
In today's relatively ambitionless world I can see nations and companies rather forget about those minerals/elements than start up gigantic R&D projects for extraterrestial mining operations that likely would bring little to no profit.[/QUOTE]
Again, f block elements are called rare earths, because, well, they're rare. There's maybe a few thousand tonnes of them in the earth, that isn't an infinite supply that will last all our civilization.
[QUOTE=Ryuken;35638649]James Cameron:
Makes movie about evil humans destroying other living beings' resources in space
Backs project for searching for resources in space
i can see a pattern in here[/QUOTE]
The opening of Avatar 2 is the orbital bombardment of Pandora. The rest of the trilogy is just watching multi-trillionaires talk about how regrettable it was while snorting cocaine through straws made of pure unobtanium.
[QUOTE=Kendra;35639959]Again, f block elements are called rare earths, because, well, they're rare. There's maybe a few thousand tonnes of them in the earth, that isn't an infinite supply that will last all our civilization.[/QUOTE]
First of all, f-block elements =/= rare earth elements. Secondly, rare earth elements despite their name aren't all that rare, they're just difficult to acquire. Precious metals like gold and platinum are much rarer and in the case of gold I've heard an estimate that a cube 10 meters side has already been dug up. So I don't know where you get your information.
Nevertheless, no matter how rare an element is, we're never going to deplete every single bit of it from the crust so if someone really wants it, they'll get it. For a price. Depletion to prevent any real applications is possible, I never denied that.
SHHH
SHHHHHHHHSSPPPTHTHTHSHSHSHSHSHSHSHHSHS
No arguing when talking about the future.
Shhhh
Just bro hugs and internet high fives because the future is coming soon, and its going to be a cool place. We are teetering on the very precipice of a true space age
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