While it seems inevitable that we will eventually mine asteroids for a planet hungry for metals, there’s a very real future in which Humans deplete the metals available for use in our…stuff…before we ever reach the point of realistic mining of the rocky balls orbiting or skimming near our habitable planet. Some would “harrumph” grumpily and say, “That’s ridiculous! There’s plenty of metals still left on Earth! We just have to dig a little deeper! Besides, Humanity has done just fine without using metal from stupid asteroids!”
However, there are others who point out, “It doesn’t require an economist to explain that there are some problems with the assumption metals on Earth are in infinite supply. Is it possible that we could totally exhaust some of the mineral and metal resources that are fundamental to the infrastructure and lifestyles of the 21st century, whether it be gold, iron, rhenium, or selenium?” Well, depending on who you talk to, “By some estimates – which remain controversial – our voracious consumption of some metals could mean the supply will run out within 50 years or less.”
So, while some fervently believe with their eyes wide shut that mining the asteroids is a pipe dream at best – and a massive waste of resources that could be directed to feeding the poor at worst – there are reasons that we might endeavor to not “reach for the stars”, but reach for a viable future for ALL Humans on Earth; others think it is essential that we start sooner rather than later. You’d have to count me in the camp of those who think it is essential to Civilization-As-We-Understand-It…
Of course, not ALL people live the lifestyle much of the Western World lives. Vast swaths of Humanity live in poverty, while the other portion of us live in wealth of varying degrees. (In order to give myself a wider-reading on The World, I get my news from our local NBC affiliate; BBC; and (I know, this is practically heresy) Al Jazeera. A current article states baldly: “In 2025, the richest 10 percent of the world received 53 percent of global income, the middle 40 percent received 38 percent, and the bottom 50 percent earned just 8 percent.” Read the rest of the article. It’s well-written and clearly illuminates a very perplexing issue. Don’t be afraid of being “tainted” by an unusual world-view! I’m still a middle-of-the-political-spectrum kind of person: as a PUBLIC SCHOOL teacher, my politics skew left. As a deeply religious person, my politics skew right. Our daughter classifies us as “moderate right”…
Anyway – a bigger issue that will drive my future reflections is that fact that, at THIS point, wealth seems headed to being the SOLE domain of countries CURRENTLY with resources – cash, minerals, exportable materials – enough to field a space program: the United States; Russia; India; Japan; the UK (France; Germany; Italy); Canada; Australia; Brazil; Israel; South Korea; UAE; Kazakhstan; Iran; South Africa; Turkey; Thailand; Peru; and Saudi Arabia.
So, my question: will space eventually “belong” to the wealthy countries, which stand to get even WEALTHIER and leave the rest of the world behind? What about Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Andorra; Angola; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Armenia; Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Baden; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbados; Brunei Darussalam; Belarus; Belgium; Belize; Benin; Bolivia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei; Brunswick and Lüneburg; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burma; Burundi; Cabo Verde; Cambodia; Cameroon; Cayman Islands; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; Colombia; Comoros; Congo Free State,
Cook Islands; Costa Rica; Ivory Coast; Croatia; Cuba; Cyprus; Czechia; Czechoslovakia’ Democratic Republic of the Congo; Denmark; Djibouti; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Duchy of Parma; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Estonia; Eswatini; Ethiopia; Finland; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Ghana; Greece; Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; The Vatican (Holy See); Honduras; Iceland; Iraq; Ireland; Jamaica; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kenya; Serbia/Yugoslavia; Kiribati; Kosovo; Kuwait; Kyrgyzstan; Laos; Latvia; Lebanon; Lesotho; Loochoo; Liberia; Libya; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Libya; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Madagascar; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldives; Mali ; Malta; Marshall Islands; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mexico; Micronesia; Monaco; Mongolia; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nauru; Nepal; Netherlands; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; Pakistan; Palau; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; South Korea; Moldova; Romania; Rwanda; Saint Kitts And Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent And The Grenadines; Samoa; San Marino; Sao Tome And Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia Belgrade; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Slovakia; Slovenia; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Spain; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; Sweden; Switzerland; Syria; Tajikistan; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Togo; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Türkiye; Turkmenistan; Tuvalu; Uganda; Ukraine; UAE; Tanzania; Uruguay; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Yemen; Zambia; or Zimbabwe?
Seems to me the obvious response would be for all of these smaller countries to band together and stake their own plots in space and set about unseating the current Rulers of Near Space…Stranger things have happened. Perhaps a brief perusal of history would be appropriate – what other small countries staked places in bigger places?
Today’s Source: https://endura-steel.com/star-forged-steel-the-history-of-swords-made-from-meteorites/ ; http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23455; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutankhamun%27s_meteoric_iron_dagger ; https://minikatana.com/blogs/main/meteorite-sword-an-extraterrestrial-materials-journey-into-a-blade#:~:text=As%20the%20earth%20orbits%20around,blade%20made%20from%20this%20material. ; https://www.iflscience.com/what-minerals-and-metals-might-humans-deplete-on-earth-70262 ; https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/10/where-in-the-world-are-wealth-and-income-most-unequal#:~:text=In%202025%2C%20the%20wealthiest%2010,percent%20earned%20just%208%20percent.
Foundational Resource: (A general Wikipedia post detailing what the authors currently know about asteroid mining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asteroid_mining)
Noted Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asteroid_close_approaches_to_Earth, https://www.pharostribune.com/news/local_news/article_7fcd3ea5-3c14-533f-a8d5-9bf629922f34.html, https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/04/29/like-asteroid-mining-be-careful-what-you-wish-for/, https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/learn/historyculture/theroadtothefirstflight.htm, https://hackaday.com/2019/03/27/extraterrestrial-excavation-digging-holes-on-other-worlds/, https://www.planetary.org/space-missions/every-small-worlds-mission
Interesting Stuff That Might Apply To Mining Asteroids: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgej7gzg8l0o
No comments:
Post a Comment