NASA also wants to capture asteroids

The US State Space Agency has joined the ranks of those wishing to seize asteroids to study and extract minerals there. Recently, NASA has published information about the Asteroid Retrieval Initiative , which is included in the budget for the I quarter. 2014 The program involves the use of unmanned robotic vehicles to capture asteroids and deliver them to a stable orbit near the Earth.



The new mission of NASA will help to fulfill the task set by the administration on the visit of an astronaut to an asteroid until 2025.





New model of ion engine during tests in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The previous version of this engine was tested on the Dawn vehicle, and the new version is planned to be used in vehicles for the delivery of asteroids.

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Artistic concept of the device on ion engines



Earlier, private companies Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries have announced the launch of mining programs on asteroids. Among the first investors are Larry Page, Eric Schmidt and famous film director James Cameron, who recently descended to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.



During the press conference with a presentation of the Planetary Resources project, company founder Peter Diamandis said that from one asteroid the size of half the conference room in which we are talking now, you can get enough resources to recoup all space flights in NASA history.



Diamandis believes that the development of asteroids "will increase global GDP by trillions of dollars."



The company Planetary Resources plans to launch into orbit the first device of the Arkyd 100 series within 12-24 months. This telescope will collect data on nearby asteroids and their chemical composition.







Subsequent robotic devices of the Arkyd 200 and Arkyd 300 series will be responsible for establishing contact with the asteroid and developing mineral resources, respectively. The first mission on the extraction of resources and the return of cargo to Earth is planned to be completed within ten years.



The main minerals that hope to find on asteroids is water in any form or component. If it is found, the company can arrange the supply of oxygen and hydrogen to Earth orbit for NASA space missions and commercial customers, because the cost of delivering these goods from the surface of the planet is very high.



The second goal is the elements of the platinoid group: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, platinum. The cost of these materials comes to hundreds of dollars per gram, which makes it possible to recoup the cost of transportation from space to the surface of the planet. Now on Earth, too, the extraction of these materials from asteroids, which can be found.



In turn, the company Deep Space Industries plans not only to mine ore on asteroids, but to extract valuable material from the ore right on the spot, after which small factories with simple 3D printers will make metal objects of valuable substances. A conceptual model of such mini-factories called MicroGravity Foundry has already been developed.







Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries are going to intercept asteroids close to Earth. Scientists estimate that about 1,500 asteroids are more accessible for exploration than the surface of the moon.