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I have no domain specific knowledge so would love some feedback… Once starship actually works it seems like a less complicated task diverting asteroids and min

I have no domain specific knowledge so would love some feedback… Once starship actually works it seems like a less complicated task diverting asteroids and mining them. Obviously not easy with a million new problems, but still easier than a fully reusable space transport system. At that point humanity’s resources will become orders of magnitude larger. It will be a different world. And I don’t see how this doesn’t happen in my lifetime.

Someone 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt: The total mass of the asteroid belt is about 4% that of the Moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon#Size_and_mass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon#Size_and_mass: The Moon's mass is 1/81 of Earth's So, the total mass of the asteroid belt is about 1/2000 that of earth. Assuming (slightly incorrectly) an even distribution of mass throughout earth, thats’s about as much as in the outermost 1/6000 of the radius of earth, or the top km. That’s a lot of material, but there also is the complication that asteroids are far away, and far away from each other. ⇒ I wouldn’t count on asteroid mining making our resources orders of magnitude larger.
- XorNot 5y ago
  Space is both big and small though. The distances are large, but everything is measured in Delta-V - once something is on its way, it's going to get there no matter what. And unlike Earth, we don't live in any of that volume.
- mr_toad 5y ago
  Composition is important. Most of Earths metal is in the core and completely inaccessible. However there appear to be some asteroids that are largely composed of metal and are completely exposed. We mine about 3 billion tonnes of iron a year. A single iron rich asteroid could plausibly have hundreds or even thousands of times as much iron. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-type_asteroid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-type_asteroid
ncmncm 5y ago
One thing we can be almost certain of: no asteroids will be diverted, in any meaningful sense, in your lifetime. Maybe in 50 years robots will be nipping off bits of some, to loft someplace where they are wanted.
- simonh 5y ago
  May be so, but it's also quite possible we will have started the diversion process within that period, it's just these things take a lot of time.

Someone 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_belt: The total mass of the asteroid belt is about 4% that of the Moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon#Size_and_mass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon#Size_and_mass: The Moon's mass is 1/81 of Earth's So, the total mass of the asteroid belt is about 1/2000 that of earth. Assuming (slightly incorrectly) an even distribution of mass throughout earth, thats’s about as much as in the outermost 1/6000 of the radius of earth, or the top km. That’s a lot of material, but there also is the complication that asteroids are far away, and far away from each other. ⇒ I wouldn’t count on asteroid mining making our resources orders of magnitude larger.

XorNot 5y ago
Space is both big and small though. The distances are large, but everything is measured in Delta-V - once something is on its way, it's going to get there no matter what. And unlike Earth, we don't live in any of that volume.
mr_toad 5y ago
Composition is important. Most of Earths metal is in the core and completely inaccessible. However there appear to be some asteroids that are largely composed of metal and are completely exposed. We mine about 3 billion tonnes of iron a year. A single iron rich asteroid could plausibly have hundreds or even thousands of times as much iron. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-type_asteroid https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-type_asteroid

ncmncm 5y ago

One thing we can be almost certain of: no asteroids will be diverted, in any meaningful sense, in your lifetime. Maybe in 50 years robots will be nipping off bits of some, to loft someplace where they are wanted.

simonh 5y ago
May be so, but it's also quite possible we will have started the diversion process within that period, it's just these things take a lot of time.