Questions tagged [mining]
Questions about the extraction of materials from other planets or asteroids.
108
questions
4
votes
3
answers
1k
views
A Philae Lander (like) anchoring harpoons on M-Type (metallic) asteroid. Can a nail gun and the effect of Cold Welding be a working solution?
Everyone knows what happened to Philae lander (Rosetta mission). It is hard to predict the reliability of anchoring points before we know surface conditions on the asteroid. On the other hand, it is ...
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How to maintain balance and center of gravity when pushing a 100-ton piece of asteroid?
I understand that rotating momentum around a fixed axis can help with the center of balance. But is it enough?
In my case, a space tug has to burn its engine for 1 min, accelerate a 100-ton piece of ...
0
votes
1
answer
135
views
What would be the most fuel-efficient propulsion solution to accelerate a 100-ton piece of NEO asteroid towards Earth?
We need acceleration to about 300-500 m/s relative to an NEO asteroid - to get to an LEO.
What is needed is the lightest package possible, that includes engine, fuel tanks, control module and ...
-1
votes
2
answers
174
views
1 kiloton nuclear device to clear up debris and dust to expose the iron-nickel core for open-pit mining (on M-Type asteroids)?
My understanding is that initial acceleration from the blast and following solar wind will clear the area around the asteroid for spacecraft navigation (in reasonable time). A 2-3 kilometer M-type ...
anon
-4
votes
2
answers
177
views
Can Nuclear Pulse Propulsion (Project Orion) accelerate a 100,000 ton M-type (metallic) asteroid to a LEO? [closed]
Project Orion: specific impulse in the range of 6,000 seconds.
For example – Starship Interplanetary (SpaceX):
Max Fuel (after refueling at orbit) - 1,950 ton
Fuel left after arriving at NEO asteroid –...
anon
1
vote
3
answers
233
views
Could we by ordinary mining activities, affect the Lunar orbit?
In The Time Machine (Guy Pearce version), they manage to literally break up the Earth's moon with obviously disastrous results and I believe they were just building underground structures.
I am ...
- 337
1
vote
1
answer
121
views
How realistic are the required fluorine mining quantities for terraforming Mars compared to the real mining practices on Earth?
Energy balance calculations in the JGR article Radiative-convective model of warming Mars with artificial greenhouse gases suggest that the addition of 0.2 Pa of the best greenhouse gases mixture (15%...
- 7,371
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is there any evidence from previous missions to asteroids that said asteroids have minable minerals?
Claims about asteroid mining talk about how many resources are on each asteroid, with claims of "trillions of dollars" of raw materials. Ignoring the cost of getting to the asteroid, have ...
- 6,200
12
votes
10
answers
3k
views
Is there an elegant method to stop an asteroid's spin?
There have been proposals to mine asteroids, perhaps after “tugging” them to a more accessible location. As well, proposals have been made to move asteroids which threaten collision with earth.
...
- 15.3k
3
votes
1
answer
92
views
Would planetary quarantine have to be used for asteroid mining missions?
Currently, sample return missions have to follow very delicate procedures to move the sample to the return vehicle. This is incredibly complicated and may explain why so few missions have launched.
...
- 3,055
10
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How can we source potassium fluoride outside of Earth?
Potassium fluoride is the best known terrestrial option to purify the various materials used for the manufacturing of photovoltaic panels. Many of these materials can be found in regolith. The process ...
- 223
2
votes
1
answer
92
views
Using a reverse sling + compression sock to give an asteroid an initial boost - possible?
building my a related question, I have a hypothesis in question:
Assuming that we can get a tug spacecraft near an asteroid worth mining, at appropriate but faster speeds can we use a slingshot with a ...
3
votes
2
answers
120
views
Could we use Mars as as an asteroid mining base?
After getting a lot of helpful feedback I've arrived at a question:
What if we setup base on Mars:
I) Mine water, and split it for propellant.
II) Load up light weight (expandable?) rockets with it....
2
votes
1
answer
116
views
Cheaply capture asteroids for mining with momentum transfer via a chain of Earth + Moon elevators (and alike), is it possible?
I get that mining asteroids seems like a very expensive task. I understand that it's expensive to get to and from them and takes lots of propellant. But I just thought of a a way to make it way ...
3
votes
2
answers
164
views
Sub Lunar Mining
What mineable Lunar mineral deposits are valuable enough to offset mission costs. I have read perhaps cobalt, titanium, lithium, helium and maybe obsidian?
- 31
3
votes
2
answers
131
views
Asteroid mining: will full asteroid prospecting require sending probes to each asteroid?
It is well known that many characteristics about an asteroid such as orbit, size, rotation and chemical composition can be obtained remotely thanks to passive techniques such as spectrophotometry, ...
- 421
14
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Would a sufficiently deep cavern on Mars provide habitable temperature and atmospheric pressure? Was Dick Tracy wrong?
Would a sufficiently deep cavern on Mars provide habitable temperature and atmospheric pressure?
Dick Tracy discovered minimally dressed Moon People living comfortably outdoors on the Moon. Their Far ...
- 15.3k
9
votes
1
answer
288
views
How much equipment will be required to mine 600 tons of water ice on Mars?
Assuming that Starship needs to fully refuel on the Martian surface to return to Earth, that will require about 260 tons of methane->66 tons of hydrogen->600 tons of water, which you would need ...
- 3,951
1
vote
7
answers
1k
views
Are people actually serious about mining the Moon?
I see a lot of enthusiasm about the possibility of mining the Moon. But worryingly, I don't see much said about the potential horrific effects of this.
I mean, guys: the Moon is actually pretty damn ...
- 245
5
votes
1
answer
247
views
On what calculations is Robert Zubrin's assertion that Mars could be warmed by 10 ⁰ C in 50 years with fluorocarbon gases based?
In this answer to the question "What would the full hypothetical Mars terraforming roadmap look like ?" there's a link to the article "Zubrin on Terraforming Mars" in Universe ...
- 7,371
6
votes
1
answer
268
views
How can we mine Near Earth Objects?
After skimming this Worldbuilding SE answer, I wonder if any companies or space agencies have plans in place to mine Near Earth Objects(NEOs) in the future.
- 269
0
votes
2
answers
158
views
Likely ways to move asteroids
Asteroids for mining and to make habitats: what are likely ways to move them?
Orion project nuclear explosions might be plausible, but would probably be expensive, use very heavy materials from Earth, ...
- 117
3
votes
0
answers
50
views
Can it be estimated when a first settlement near the equator would become more economical than one at the midlatitudes of Mars?
Choosing the right place on Mars for a settlement would be of course an important decision because once it's there it would take much time and money to move on to another, better location.
Because the ...
- 7,371
2
votes
2
answers
129
views
Full lunar mineralization/ore map
This is really quick I'm searching for a full complete ore map of the moon, I found this:
But, as you can see, is impossible read.
- 1,623
3
votes
0
answers
124
views
Deimos and Phobos minerals
I am searching for Deimos and Phobos mineral maps, which probably are the best candidates to find large amounts of He-3 or other valuable resources to send to Mars colonies in the future. I searched ...
- 1,623
3
votes
1
answer
235
views
What would be the required equipment for an astronaut to dig to the centre of Bennu?
Credits: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona
The image above is part of a close-up acquired by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft of Bennu's surface.
101955 Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid that is currently ...
- 7,371
4
votes
5
answers
536
views
Will mining water on Bennu for travelling to Mars not be more economical than mining it at the lunar south pole?
Bennu is a carbonaceous asteroid that is currently accompanied by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that will take samples from it to return to Earth.
Its diameter is 490 m. and it is slightly denser than ...
- 7,371
2
votes
0
answers
190
views
Mining Venus' surface using lasers?
One of the issues with colonizing Venus is the harsh conditions at the surface. People have proposed using floating habitats in the upper atmosphere, where conditions are milder, and gathering ...
- 1,196
2
votes
1
answer
144
views
Demonstrating molten oxide electrolysis on the Moon, what would require the most power, keeping it molten or driving the electrolysis?
It seems that oxygen may be extractable from oxides in lunar regolith using "some variant of the" molten oxide electrolysis.
Assuming that solar energy is used in a lunar setting, what would ...
- 149k
4
votes
2
answers
318
views
How is it proposed to extract oxygen from lunar regolith?
Futurism's news item NASA Pumps Funding into Startup That Says It Can Harvest Oxygen From Lunar Regolith says:
NASA just awarded substantial funding to Pioneer Astronautics, a company that claims it ...
- 149k
2
votes
0
answers
126
views
What are the challenges for delivering bulk asteroid commodities to Earth? [closed]
I think nickel-iron is an extraordinary and perhaps unique resource that is (by Earth market standards) valuable even as a raw and unprocessed commodity - perhaps several thousand US$ per ton for high ...
- 954
1
vote
1
answer
42
views
Compact ISRU for manufactured goods?
Most studies of ISRU focus on propellants, life support supplies, concrete, or other "bulk" materials (liquids, gases, granules). This makes sense, given that the majority of a typical ...
- 8,588
3
votes
0
answers
49
views
Are there substances that can effectively mined from asteroids that can be used for ion thrusters?
The most popular ion thruster design seems to use Xenon. Unfortunately, due to it's low boiling point Xenon isn't easily available in space.
Are there other materials from which ion thrusters could ...
- 292
3
votes
0
answers
89
views
Atmospheric entry of asteroid mining products
This is a more general question than How to get processed asteroid metals back to Earth in a safe manner
That question was actually a quick check to see if a particular idea was plausible. Instead, ...
- 473
2
votes
0
answers
93
views
What are mass constraints to mine the moon causing significant changes to orbital dynamics either tidal forces?
While US and EU governments seem now to give official support for Moon mining, I wonder whether if we would mine away from the Moon same quantity we have mined on the Earth so far, would that ...
- 2,910
6
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Would capture of a uranium-rich asteroid open new possibilities?
It seems that energy production in space is a limiting factor. We can use photovoltaics, but they're of minimal value past Mars, and many interesting places (like the moon) have very long nights. The ...
- 451
5
votes
3
answers
516
views
What is the closest asteroid to Earth worth mining?
I found this list, but it doesn't say how close it is to the ground https://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/~lance/delta_v/delta_v.rendezvous.html
- 1,623
8
votes
1
answer
807
views
Mining Helium-3 on the Moon and sending it to Earth?
It would be best to mine and process material on the moon to obtain helium-3, but my question is, what if we did an unmanned mission?
A small robot 1 meter long, powered by solar energy, that takes ...
- 1,623
6
votes
1
answer
157
views
Resources on 129 Antigone
I am one of the cast members of an ongoing science-fiction podcast set in an asteroid settlement on 129 Antigone. The settlement is an O’Neill cylinder built from materials harvested from the asteroid,...
- 163
5
votes
1
answer
300
views
When the moon rock heats up to 600°C, does only Helium comes out?
When lunar rock is heated to 600 °C to extract Helium-3, are gases expelled other than helium? Inductance process would be used in heating the rock.
- 1,623
1
vote
0
answers
40
views
How can 3He be mined on the moon? [duplicate]
Now I know how it is detected, but what would the mining process be like? given that there is a lot on the moon but not concentrated, so you have to process large amounts of surface to extract a ...
- 1,623
8
votes
2
answers
362
views
How could the presence of 3He be detected on the lunar surface?
I have been investigating this isotope of helium for a while, which is extremely abundant on the moon (and in general in the entire solar system except on planets with atmosphere). It is believed that ...
- 1,623
4
votes
1
answer
407
views
Asteroid Mining on Ceres
I am an Architecture and Urbanism student. Currently I am working on designing a space habitat for mineral mining on Ceres.
I have been reading about space mining techniques mostly on near Earth ...
1
vote
1
answer
169
views
Would mass drivers be able to transport base material on the moon more efficiently than drones?
I am a hobbyist working on a climate change adaptation idea that is a variation of orbital sun shades. It would project soil/material from the moon to provide targeted shading for whatever part of ...
- 91
4
votes
0
answers
83
views
SpaceX Dragon Maximum Return Payload
For one of my university courses, we were asked to assess the viability of an asteroid exploitation mission. Assuming that we can somehow mine and refine the material (platinum in this case), we still ...
- 387
2
votes
1
answer
158
views
Could a Gravity Tractor be used for mining asteroids?
Recently, I came across the concept of the Gravity Tractor for the first time. And I was intrigued.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_tractor
A Gravity Tractor, as I understand it, is a concept ...
- 21
7
votes
2
answers
268
views
Can we use magnetic devices to anchor to asteroids?
One of the challenges about missions to asteroids is staying attached to them when you land.
Many asteroids are described as nickel/iron, and we know that both nickel and iron are ferromagnetic.
Is it ...
- 27k
4
votes
1
answer
241
views
How long does it take to refresh helium-3 on the moon?
I was reading a science-fiction novel, Limit, by Frank Shätzing. It depicts a near-future with useful helium-3 fusion, and the Americans and Chinese are bumping elbows mining helium-3 on the moon, ...
- 4,267
1
vote
1
answer
189
views
On what target will TransAstra Corp's MiniBee practice its Optical Mining technique?
Space.com's NASA Eyes Wild Space Tech Ideas to Mine the Moon (and Asteroids, Too!) says:
The other project is called Mini Bee and is led by Joel Sercel, founder and CEO of TransAstra Corp. Mini Bee ...
- 149k
2
votes
1
answer
434
views
Can anyone find a more recent NASA paid for study on lunar tunnel-boring machine?
The one that I found is from May 5,1988
by
Professor Stan Lowy
Department of Aerospace Engineering
Texas A M University
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19890008382.pdf
https://...
- 274