Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
An asteroid half the size of a football field could be worth more
than the Super Bowl.
When it comes to precious metals, humans can get a little insane.
I mean even the terminology gets a little creepy. Show a human a pretty reflective surface
and suddenly we're all
"My Precious!"
Despite its high profile, gold's not really that precious a metal. For that we need to
look at the platinum group metals like rhodium. That's a much higher bidding price. And platinum
group metals can be found in everything from catalytic converters to jewelry. And while
they're mega-rare here on Earth, in other parts of the solar system it's a different
story.
There are some scientists who believe that an asteroid only 150-feet wide could contain
up to 130 BILLION dollars worth of platinum group metals. And another 65 billion dollars
in water.
And where there's precious metal in the ground, you can bet there's going to be a mining operation
right behind. And that's the case here with companies like Planetary Resources and Deep
Space Industries who are putting together mission profiles right now to get while the
getting is good.
The outline offered by Planetary Resources starts with a series of small, cheap space
telescopes called Arkyds, which will survey the field of near-Earth asteroids.
Next, self propelled Arkyds fly out for a closer look of the best candidates. Once we've
figured out which ones to mine, volatiles like oxygen and water are the first order
of business. Landers could set down and begin operations on site or if the asteroid is small
enough, we could capture it and bring it back to orbit the Earth or the Moon for easier
access.
One of the reasons I'm really excited by the prospect of asteroid mining is that it's more
than just making investors rich.
This could be the future of space exploration.
Think about it. Asteroids could have massive amounts of ice on them. And ice, of course,
is water. And that's not just good for astronauts who are a little thirsty. Water contains the
building blocks for rocket fuel.
Asteroids might have nickel and iron as well, which we have plenty of on Earth, but in space
we could use it to make space colonies or new vehicles.
And then there's the Armageddon factor.
Planetary Resources' co-founded Peter Diamandis says that there's the potential for a space
mining operation to move an asteroid out of the path of an Earth collision. Meaning, there
is a small chance that a space mining operation could save the planet. And that's not the
only public good it's doing.
In May 2013, Planetary Resources launched a crowd funding campaign that opened up a
space telescope for educational purposes. People who contribute can actually aim one
Arkyd any direction they like, perhaps even uncovering an undiscovered object. That's
a pretty empowering idea that can get a lot of people really interested in science.
Now, when it comes down to the core business model of asteroid mining. There's still a
pretty big question mark. No one's really sure how much wealth is actually out there.
Back in the 90's, one estimate said that there could be about 100 billion dollars, for every
single person on Earth!
Now when you're talking about numbers that big, does the word "precious" really have
any meaning?
And I've got a question for all of you.
Do you think that asteroid mining is absolutely crazy, or are these people really just ahead
of the curve?
Let us know what you think in the comments. And remember, "like" this video, and subscribe
because I've got some amazing videos coming up and I don't want you to miss a single one
of them.