Still Waters Posted April 24, 2012 #1 Share Posted April 24, 2012 Details have been emerging of the plan by billionaire entrepreneurs to mine asteroids for their resources.The multi-million-dollar plan would use robotic spacecraft to squeeze chemical components of fuel and minerals such as platinum and gold out of the rocks. The founders include film director and explorer James Cameron as well as Google's chief executive Larry Page and its executive chairman Eric Schmidt. They even aim to create a fuel depot in space by 2020. However, several scientists have responded with scepticism, calling the plan daring, difficult and highly expensive. Read more... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoesntReallyLike Posted April 24, 2012 #2 Share Posted April 24, 2012 It sounds cool but they would have to min some pretty lucrative materials to make it worth the trip. Plus I hope James Cameron's mining ships don't bring back any aliens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reggie2011 Posted April 25, 2012 #3 Share Posted April 25, 2012 is anyone eles sick of hearing all these plans that never happen?they landed on the moon 50 years ago they were gonna land on mars 30 years ago before i was born , im over it talk is cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kobolds Posted April 26, 2012 #4 Share Posted April 26, 2012 (edited) there's a cheap and easy way to mine asteroid but a bit danger . "rather than mining in space , we can bring it into earth for as long as we able to it slow down when it descend ." this method is possible with our current technology Edited April 26, 2012 by kobolds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A rather obscure Bassoon Posted April 26, 2012 #5 Share Posted April 26, 2012 Hope these guys live to a ripe old age,it's gonna be years before these guys see any money back.That is if there is any money to be made using current technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junior Chubb Posted April 28, 2012 #6 Share Posted April 28, 2012 is anyone eles sick of hearing all these plans that never happen?they landed on the moon 50 years ago they were gonna land on mars 30 years ago before i was born , im over it talk is cheap. Talk is cheap Reggie, but ideas have to star somewhere, what is common practice today was always just an idea at some point. It might be a long way off but as my son would say it sounds "Awesome!!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dreamer - Hybrid89 Posted April 29, 2012 #7 Share Posted April 29, 2012 I agree that everything starts off as an Idea, but to be fair there is a point regardless of how long it takes where you have to act and not twiddle your thumbs and play with yourself. If there is in fact useful materials on Asteroids for us, then it could well in fact be worth the time and effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValkyrieVoice Posted May 6, 2012 #8 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I think it's wonderful that they're going to mine asteroids. Besides, perhaps there's precious gems and minerals on the asteroids that we have yet to find and learn about that aren't here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catfishyeah Posted May 8, 2012 #9 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Hows this for an idea? Sure we could mine asteroids, but should we? I remember hearing this phrase from many people (and a game I play). "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." What if this whole thing becomes worthless? we find nothing but the common rock in asteroids? Looks like we just wasted time, and money that could've been spent on something more productive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 8, 2012 #10 Share Posted May 8, 2012 What if this whole thing becomes worthless? we find nothing but the common rock in asteroids? Looks like we just wasted time, and money that could've been spent on something more productive. We already know that many asteroids are rich in valuable metals particularly iron. Most meteorites which reach the earth's surface originated in the asteroid belt. Using spectroscopy we can identify these metal rich asteroids from earth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catfishyeah Posted May 8, 2012 #11 Share Posted May 8, 2012 True. It's just one of the many possibilities in the continuum shift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted May 8, 2012 #12 Share Posted May 8, 2012 True. It's just one of the many possibilities in the continuum shift. Actually no it isn't. The beauty of science is that it relys on evidence and knowledge, not belief and guess work. We won't be picking asteroids at random and then getting disappointed when there is nothing there. We will be targeting asteroids where we know there is a return to be made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey14 Posted May 10, 2012 #13 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Hows this for an idea? Sure we could mine asteroids, but should we? I remember hearing this phrase from many people (and a game I play). "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." What if this whole thing becomes worthless? we find nothing but the common rock in asteroids? Looks like we just wasted time, and money that could've been spent on something more productive. As waspie said we can already determine what kinds of metals are in an asteriod. For instance we know of one asteriod that contains more gold in it than what we have mined from the earth in all of human history. The problem then becomes ok we can mine asteroids for all these rare metals however now they are no longer as rare so the price falls out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daveisback Posted May 28, 2012 #14 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Read "Mining the Sky" by John S Lewis it tells how it can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xpeople Posted December 24, 2012 #15 Share Posted December 24, 2012 I wonder if it is possible to crash an astraroid into earth safely. We could mine it on earth instead of space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now