ROCKMINE

Develop an approach for characterizing the composition of asteroid for mining potential and a process for mining different compositions. Explore a possible division of labor involving different types of vehicles (e.g. sensor units, drilling units, power gathering and distribution, extracted resources handling and transferring). Consider solutions for moving said asteroids between different orbits and/or consequently make periodical adjustments to keep them in place. Analyze how your idea would cope in some of the given scenarios or outline a scheme of your own.

The sheer scale of the resources available in the asteroids is astonishing. Firstly, there are 150 million asteroids in the solar system with a radius of 100 m or more, and vastly more at smaller sizes. Even a single one of these asteroids is a treasure trove. We estimate that the iridium alone in a single average-sized class C asteroid is worth $6 trillion on earth.

But the real value of those resources is perhaps incalculable. What is it worth to obtain access to the materials necessary to construct an entire transportation network for the solar system? That extends the reach of humanity to places we have only visited. The fact that those resources are in space seems like it places them out of reach, but that view is misguided. When we imagine humankind developing a full industrial/transportation infrastructure in space, suddenly having the resources available in space is a huge advantage. The cost of getting resources from earth to space is prohibitive. It’s a huge gift that they’re already in place.

The fact that the value of asteroid mining is potentially enormous has attracted any number of possible scenarios for how to access that value. But how does one evaluate those proposals? How do we know which are feasible? Rockmine brings quantitative, albeit very approximate, analysis to the discussion.

First, to determine value of these asteroids, we need to utilize orbital parameters from JPL’s Small Body Database, spacecraft rendezvous delta Vs, along with Tholen and SMASS asteroid spectral classifications, to retrieve the density, mass, composition. With this, we can estimate the value of the asteroid assuming a similar distribution of the elements.

Based on the initial data analysis that ROCKMINE performs, missions can be planned for surveyor satellites. The surveyor satellites would orbit near-earth asteroid orbits and use instruments such as infrared spectrometers to do more detailed analysis of the asteroid composition, which would then be sent back to ROCKMINE.

Once we determine the target asteroid to mine, a transporter vehicle that is docked at a space station will travel from the space station to the target asteroid, retrieves it, and then returns to space station.

At the space station, asteroid matter is processed to create fuel and separates metals. From there, the resources can be used to keep propelling forward asteroid mining missions, or be sent back to earth or other bodies in the solar system wher