Parabolic Arc coverage of space prospecting
NEO (near earth objects) Mining Options
* bag and boil for volatile extraction
* magnetic rake for high grade ore
* take small asteroid pieces home
* new moon — Earth orbit
* hot knife — cut up comet core with nuclear heat
– Asteroid Itakowa is close to being a proper size for mining — Japanese Hayabusa probe landed there
– To NEO mining work, need to minimize project risk, payback time, etc.
– Platinum worth $4,000 per ton; water worth $1 million per ton
– Awaiting development of market in orbit for water delivery
– 538,271 asteroids discovered
– 7317 Near Earth Asteroids (NEA)
– 66,000 NEOs
– 18,000+ potentially hazardous NEOs
of the NEAs, over 3200 are over 300 meters in diameter and over 800 are over 1km diameter
Where is ice in comets?
– Ices are on the surface but most water is not from that ice.
– Most ice is below surface by 1-3 skin depths – definitely over 2 meters
– NEAs largely missing water signals
– Evidence of water on 24 Themis
– Ceres long known to have water
– Distant spectal studies not definitive. Asteroid studied by Cassini was much more interesting than appeared from earth.
– Diversity of asteroids will probably be much greater than seems now as seen from earth based studies.
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Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.