Questions tagged [mining]
Questions about the extraction of materials from other planets or asteroids.
125 questions
8 votes
3 answers
531 views
Mining gemstones from space
I've heard of the concept from multiple sources of mining metals such as iron , gold , silver , copper , nickel , cobalt , titanium and platinum from asteroids. Is there anywhere in the solar system ...
- 3,052
-3 votes
2 answers
284 views
Tradeoffs between mining asteroids vs the Moon
At the moment, it seems like popular sentiment is saying Lunar Mining is significantly better than Near-Earth Asteroid mining. This seems illogical to me: Near-Earth Asteroids have near zero gravity, ...
- 355
5 votes
1 answer
224 views
Is it practical to extract elements from the salt remnants of Martian oceans and lakes?
Modern human civilization needs many elements to function. Our mining efforts are based on extensive logistics and the ability to transport ores from excavation sites to processing facilities over ...
- 153
0 votes
2 answers
413 views
How do I learn about Space Mining and the Space Industry?
So I'm a very spirited entrepreneurial college student whose lacked some direction in what I want to do with my Computer Science degree once I graduate. I've lived on the Space Coast my whole life, ...
2 votes
1 answer
417 views
Could Phobos or Deimos be a good target for mining?
Phobos could be loaded with iron, magnesium, and other metals of sorts. Because of the mineralogy of the moon, could it become a useful target for future plans similar to asteroid mining? Phobos and ...
- 75
0 votes
2 answers
583 views
If we could mine asteroids, how would we get the stuff mined from said asteroid back to earth?
I was thinking of some contraption that would suck up the material from said asteroid and put it in some type of container thingy that would then be transported to a shuttle that would then get sent ...
- 75
3 votes
1 answer
219 views
Could asteroid mining benefit human kind?
If we ever set out into space to mine stuff like asteroids, and utilized the resources from said asteroid, would we be a more advanced civilization (when I mean advanced I mean like building stuff ...
- 75
3 votes
2 answers
1k views
Using Dragon and Polaris Dawn to dock with near Earth asteroids
There is a planned launch from SpaceX called Polaris Dawn; for a modified Dragon capsule, currently planned for early summer 2024, with the ability to depressurize and allow astronauts to do a space ...
- 421
2 votes
1 answer
94 views
How much is the estimated amount of ilmenite present on Lunar surface?
I wanted to gauge estimated amount of ilmenite that can be extracted from Lunar regolith. From that, ultimately I want to derive the amount of oxygen that can be extracted out of it. Any estimate or ...
- 117
2 votes
1 answer
175 views
The reason for using TiN on the perserverance's drill
Why did NASA use TiN coating for Perseverance's drill instead of coatings like TiAlN, AlTiN, TiAlCrN? I'm aware of the point of the TiN coating in terms of contamination, but it's a broad topic. ...
- 21
3 votes
1 answer
203 views
Could mirrors used in a Dyson Swarm be made from asteroids in the inner asteroid belt?
In this video from Kurzgesagt they said that one would need to disassemble a whole planet to build a Dyson swarm around the sun. The video went on about mining Mercury and using the materials ...
- 7,095
3 votes
2 answers
341 views
What is the prevalence of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the asteroid belt and in comets?
As someone with a light background in controlled-environment agriculture, I'm familiar with the importance and use of N/P/K in growing useful plants. This got me thinking about how common these ...
- 721
1 vote
0 answers
67 views
Will Ataxite be the type of nickel-iron sought for asteroid mining?
The high value metals in meteorites and asteroids - mostly Platinum Group Metals - appear associated with the nickel content (The Occurrence of Platinum in Meteorites, F. G. Hawley,1939), ie the ...
- 1,141
4 votes
0 answers
203 views
What could we produce with a space based industry?
The astroid belt is great place to start humanity’s journey through space. I want to know, what materials and items could be produced from asteroids. I’m mainly going to ask for useful items, such ...
- 201
2 votes
1 answer
274 views
How could we extract xenon from asteroids and comets?
Xenon is a propellant for next which is a very good thruster. VASIMIR, which uses much more abundant hydrogen is under development and may not ready by the time we run out of resources. So, how ...
- 201