Asteroid mining companies…are we living in the future yet? Incredibly, this is the first many have heard of these ventures, even though Deep Space Industries isn’t the first company to commit to space mining.
Launched this Tuesday, Deep Space Mining wants to launch a fleet of spacecraft in 2015, with the main goal of mining resources on the rocks that float around near Earth space.
The two main harvesting goals will be to gain metal and water and refuel the space station with these materials. This will allow the spacecraft to stay in space without having to come to refuel. This, in turn, could lead to large depositories of space rocks and metals being shipped to Earth.
Another firm had billions of dollars backing last April for space mining, Planetary Resources. With the goal of 2015 on the horizon both companies seem adamant that permanent space travel can be achievable in this decade.
Admittedly, the actual mining stage is not coming within these next five years. Deep Space will send out small reconnaissance ‘FireFlies’ to find potential mining targets. They hope that by 2016, they will have ‘DragonFlies’ out into space, capturing small rocks for examination.
The CEO of Deep Space David Gump says that mining resources in the next decade is a realistic target and hopes that his company can achieve it. Deep Space will offer flights to members of the public, through corporate sponsorship.
The company will need to set up communication satellites and solar based power stations before the mining missions can begin. Precious metals like platinum will be sent back to Earth through little space shuttles.
What do you think of this development? Do you see space travel and mining as a clear and close goal or something to futuristic to comprehend? And would be you be willing to go on one of these flights to space? Tell us down in the comments!