ECONOMY OF SPACE MININGMany organizations in the mining industry are of the opinion that many minerals, especially metal materials, will be exhausted in the next 50 years. Mineral resources are gradually decreasing, based on known land reserves and increased consumption in both developed and developing countries. It is assumed that the basic elements (phosphorus, antimony, zinc, tin, lead, indium, silver, gold and copper) required for modern industry and food production will be consumed in 50-60 years. Precious metals and rare elements used in the production of smartphones, tablets, PCs and weapons will be exhausted in 45 years.
Mining operations based on obtaining mines from asteroids in space are called space mining. It is estimated that mineral reserves such as copper, tin, zinc, silver, lead and gold, which are the most used in the industry today and have high economic value, will be exhausted in the next hundred years.
As asteroids contain many precious metals, it is one of the top targeted objects in space mining. These metals needed for technological developments have an extraordinary value since they are rarely found on Earth. In asteroids, besides metal, there is the possibility of extracting water ice, from which we can easily obtain hydrogen and oxygen. This is an ideal fuel for the rockets of vehicles that we send into space and are intended to move near Earth orbit.
Alternatively, among such fuels are those that can be obtained from other planets. For example, Saturn's satellite, Titan, has an atmosphere rich in methane and hydrocarbons. Even surface conditions indicate that this content is abundant in both liquid and solid form. Titan's methane lakes contain more hydrocarbons than any oil reserves on Earth. Dark colored organic sand dunes located in the regions close to the equator line contain hundreds of times more of coal on our planet.
The situation changes if we set aside the fuel issue and focus on precious stones in the universe. If we are to pursue such exotic materials, we can target many planets within the Solar System. For example, under the blue-green atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune, it is known that there are plenty of water ice, ammonia and methane. Under high pressure, methane turns into hydrogen and carbon. In such a case, it crystallizes and takes a geometric form similar to the lattice lattice. We call this an example on our planet diamond. The diamonds scattered on the surface of Uranus and Neptune are estimated to vary in size from a pebble to giant rocks. They may also have formed a thin layer on the surface of the planets.
Of course, the main thing is how to remove all these precious metals and stones. For now, it is not even possible to go to a planet and look for valuable material there. Because first of all this means a very high cost. For this reason, we target the asteroids that are closer to us.
https://wordwall.net/tr/resource/2049580
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder