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The better bet is to process raw materials in space and send refined products down to earth. Would you rather have strip-mining and smelting occurring in space
by wombatpm 3y ago
The better bet is to process raw materials in space and send refined products down to earth. Would you rather have strip-mining and smelting occurring in space or on earth? Daniel Suarez had a lot of fascinating ideas in Delta-V
- Chris2048 3y ago> Would you rather have strip-mining and smelting occurring in space or on earth? I assume you mean "on the moon or on earth" since you can't really mine in empty space. The process of either (without air, for a start) would make them so different as to be incomparable. Mining on the moon would have so many expenses associated, that you could spend the same amount making earth-based processes cleaner. The issue is that it's economical not to do so, so earth processes are dirty by design and due to lack of regulation.
- ajdude 3y agoI wonder how hard it would be to mine an asteroid, and then send the refined materials back to Earth from the asteroid belt. Sure, the initial trip would take a while, but after the initial package you could just keep shipping them every few weeks for a consistent supply.