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> Asteroid mining can be a revolutionary source of resources. FWIW "...analysed how soon humans might use up the solar system’s most accessible resources shou
by perfunctory 7y ago
> Asteroid mining can be a revolutionary source of resources.
FWIW
"...analysed how soon humans might use up the solar system’s most accessible resources should space mining take off. They found that an annual growth rate of 3.5% would use up an eighth of the solar system’s realistic resources in 400 years. At that point, humanity would have only 60 years to apply the brakes and avoid exhausting the supply completely."
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/12/protect-solar-system-space-mining-gold-rush-say-scientists https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/may/12/protect-sola...
- bin0 7y agoYou're assuming we can only mine resources from the solar system. With a profit motive that big, I figure some one will figure out how to get further out. Think about how much we know about quantum mechanics we didn't know we didn't know fifty-odd years ago, then think what else we could discover in the next fifty.
- adrianN 7y agoIf we ever figure out how to transport ordinary matter across interstellar distances and make a profit, we'll most likely have magic that makes transporting matter obsolete.
- opo 7y agoAs your link says "...Elvis points out that one eighth of the iron in the asteroid belt is more than a million times greater that the estimated iron ore reserves on Earth, which may suffice for centuries." By the time we start running out of materials from the asteroids, I think we will have recycled some of the material that was previously mined.