Asteroid mining sounds fantastically futuristic, but it is almost feasible with existing technology.
We have already landed spacecraft on asteroids and taken samples.
Now all of that “simply” needs to be done at a much larger scale mining a well-scouted space rock.
The payoff for humanity will be astronomical.
Continue reading… “Here’s how asteroid mining will transform the world”
The new startup, Planetary Resources will mine asteroids for precious metals.
Peter Diamandis, entrepreneur and X-Prize impresario, earlier in 2012 hinted he was about to unveil something amazing: a startup that will mine asteroids for precious metals.
Continue reading… “Google and tech ecexutives back Planetary Resources to mine asteroids”
In 2005, Japan’s unmanned Hayabusa spacecraft (illustration) successfully landed on an asteroid.
Getting to Mars is going to involve building a huge spacecraft and loading it up with tons of fuel and radiation shielding. Unless, that is, we could just tag along with a spacecraft that’s already headed in that direction, like an asteroid.
Continue reading… “Astronauts Could One Day Reach Mars by Riding Asteroids”
This image shows the number of asteroids in the solar system currently (2010).
It’s not just our country that’s a little over-crowded – our whole solar system is too. A fascinating color-coded video illustrates how we have become increasingly aware of the number of asteroids flying close to Earth as telescopes improve. (Pics and video)
Continue reading… “Fascinating Video of Our Terrifyingly Crowded Solar System”
When Europe’s comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth on Nov. 13 for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite’s change in orbital energy. The results could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades.
Continue reading… “ESA Spacecraft May Help Unravel Cosmic Mystery”
Contrary to preconceived notions, the atmosphere and the oceans were perhaps not formed from vapors emitted during intense volcanism at the dawning of our planet. Francis Albarède of the Laboratoire des Sciences de la Terre (CNRS / ENS Lyon / Université Claude Bernard) suggests that water was not part of the Earth’s initial inventory but stems from the turbulence caused in the outer Solar System by giant planets. Ice-covered asteroids thus reached the Earth around one hundred million years after the birth of the planets.
Continue reading… “Are Earth’s Oceans Made Of Extraterrestrial Material?”
Before our planets found their way to the stable orbits they circle in today, they wiggled and jostled about like unsettled children. Now, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has found a young star with evidence for the same kind of orbital hyperactivity. Young planets circling the star are thought to be disturbing smaller comet-like bodies, causing them to collide and kick up a huge halo of dust.
Continue reading… “Unsettled Youth: Spitzer Observes A Chaotic Planetary System”
Researchers have discovered an unusual kind of meteorite in the Western Australian desert and have uncovered where in the Solar System it came from, in a very rare finding published in the journal Science. Continue reading… “Rare Meteorite Found Using New Camera Network In Australian Desert”
Networks of giant polygonal troughs etched across crater basins on Mars have been identified as desiccation cracks caused by evaporating lakes, providing further evidence of a warmer, wetter martian past. Continue reading… “Patterns In Mars Crater Floors Give Picture Of Drying Lakes”
British space scientists have designed a special spacecraft that can save the earth from a catastrophic asteroid collision.
Continue reading… “Gravity Tractor – Spacecraft Designed To Save The Earth From Asteroids”
The mysterious 1908 Tunguska explosion that leveled 830 square miles of Siberian forest was almost certainly caused by a comet entering the Earth’s atmosphere, says new Cornell University research. The conclusion is supported by an unlikely source: the exhaust plume from the NASA space shuttle launched a century later.
Continue reading… “Space Shuttle Science Shows How 1908 Tunguska Explosion Was Caused By A Comet”
Astronomers have discovered new tidal debris stripped away from colliding galaxies. New debris images are of special interest since they show the full history of galaxy collisions and resultant starburst activities, which are important in ‘growing’ galaxies in the early Universe.
Continue reading… “New Tidal Debris Discovered From Colliding Galaxies”
