4 ms·

1. Doing research is exactly the purpose of NASA. 2. I'm highly sceptical of the idea that space mining will be an economically profitable activity in the near

1. Doing research is exactly the purpose of NASA. 2. I'm highly sceptical of the idea that space mining will be an economically profitable activity in the near future and even more sceptical of the idea that nation states on Earth won't find a way to tax it.

jcgrillo 2y ago
It's probably not super realistic to mine resources in space and send the raw material down the gravity well but it's hard to imagine any space-based manufacturing without mining. Whether our species will ever attempt such a thing is.. who knows? But hauling heavy loads to and from Earth makes very little sense.
- mmooss 2y ago
  > It's probably not super realistic to mine resources in space and send the raw material down the gravity well I wonder about it: Gravity pulling through zero drag (before the atmosphere) sounds like cheap transportation of just about any mass. We have lots of experience aiming the landing site of deorbiting objects. How much would the ship cost - can we do it without an engine or fuel, with a little boost in the right direction from an orbital base? What would be needed for the cargo to survive reentry and 'landing' - for exampple, a heat shield? After landing, how much would recovery and transportation of the cargo cost? You don't want to be retrieving it from under 3,000 m of water.
  - jcgrillo 2y ago
    That is an interesting question. Doing it without losing the load seems challenging but could work if you're basically pummeling an area with raw ore then subsequently mining and refining it? I wonder what the atmospheric consequences would be?
    - mmooss 2y ago
      Also, the ore may be affected by the heat. It's enough to incinerate many things falling from space.
mmooss 2y ago
> I'm highly sceptical of the idea that space mining will be an economically profitable activity in the near future and even more sceptical of the idea that nation states on Earth won't find a way to tax it. The US has carefully preserved the interests of private space minining companies in international agreements about space. Look up the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015, and the Artemis Accords as a start. Generally it's referred to as 'extraction', if you are searching. Here's a very good resource: [0] The US delined to sign the Moon Agreement of 1984, at least in part because it designated the Moon (or some part) as the "common heritage of all mankind". The US objected because they said it contradicted free market principles. "Opponents of the Moon Treaty also expressed concerns that one of the goals of the agreement's proposed regulatory regime would be equitable sharing of benefits from lunar resources, as they worried this approach could disadvantage private sector initiatives." [0] https://www.csis.org/analysis/salmon-swimming-upstream-charting-course-cislunar-space https://www.csis.org/analysis/salmon-swimming-upstream-chart...

jcgrillo 2y ago

It's probably not super realistic to mine resources in space and send the raw material down the gravity well but it's hard to imagine any space-based manufacturing without mining. Whether our species will ever attempt such a thing is.. who knows? But hauling heavy loads to and from Earth makes very little sense.

mmooss 2y ago
> It's probably not super realistic to mine resources in space and send the raw material down the gravity well I wonder about it: Gravity pulling through zero drag (before the atmosphere) sounds like cheap transportation of just about any mass. We have lots of experience aiming the landing site of deorbiting objects. How much would the ship cost - can we do it without an engine or fuel, with a little boost in the right direction from an orbital base? What would be needed for the cargo to survive reentry and 'landing' - for exampple, a heat shield? After landing, how much would recovery and transportation of the cargo cost? You don't want to be retrieving it from under 3,000 m of water.
- jcgrillo 2y ago
  That is an interesting question. Doing it without losing the load seems challenging but could work if you're basically pummeling an area with raw ore then subsequently mining and refining it? I wonder what the atmospheric consequences would be?
  - mmooss 2y ago
    Also, the ore may be affected by the heat. It's enough to incinerate many things falling from space.

mmooss 2y ago

> I'm highly sceptical of the idea that space mining will be an economically profitable activity in the near future and even more sceptical of the idea that nation states on Earth won't find a way to tax it. The US has carefully preserved the interests of private space minining companies in international agreements about space. Look up the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015, and the Artemis Accords as a start. Generally it's referred to as 'extraction', if you are searching. Here's a very good resource: [0] The US delined to sign the Moon Agreement of 1984, at least in part because it designated the Moon (or some part) as the "common heritage of all mankind". The US objected because they said it contradicted free market principles. "Opponents of the Moon Treaty also expressed concerns that one of the goals of the agreement's proposed regulatory regime would be equitable sharing of benefits from lunar resources, as they worried this approach could disadvantage private sector initiatives." [0] https://www.csis.org/analysis/salmon-swimming-upstream-charting-course-cislunar-space https://www.csis.org/analysis/salmon-swimming-upstream-chart...