Planetary Resources

Atomkilla

Atomkilla

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On Tuesday, a new company called Planetary Resources will announce its existence at the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery at The Museum of Flight in Seattle.
There is speculation about what this company will be all about, because:

[...] the company will overlay two critical sectors – space exploration and natural resources – to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP. This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of ‘natural resources’.

Read more.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 18, 2012

*** Media Alert *** Media Alert *** Media Alert ***

Space Exploration Company to Expand Earth's Resource Base

WHAT:             Join visionary Peter H. Diamandis, M.D.; leading commercial space entrepreneur Eric Anderson; former NASA Mars mission manager Chris Lewicki; and planetary scientist & veteran NASA astronaut Tom Jones, Ph.D. on Tuesday, April 24 at 10:30 a.m. PDT in Seattle, or via webcast, as they unveil a new space venture with a mission to help ensure humanity's prosperity.

                        Supported by an impressive investor and advisor group, including Google’s Larry Page & Eric Schmidt, Ph.D.; film maker & explorer James Cameron; Chairman of Intentional Software Corporation and Microsoft’s former Chief Software Architect Charles Simonyi, Ph.D.; Founder of Sherpalo and Google Board of Directors founding member K. Ram Shriram; and Chairman of Hillwood and The Perot Group Ross Perot, Jr., the company will overlay two critical sectors – space exploration and natural resources – to add trillions of dollars to the global GDP. This innovative start-up will create a new industry and a new definition of ‘natural resources’.

The news conference will be held at the Museum of Flight in Seattle on Tuesday, April 24 at 10:30 a.m. PDT and available online via webcast.

WHEN:             Tuesday, April 24

                        10:30 a.m. PDT

WHO:               Charles Simonyi, Ph.D., Space Tourist, Planetary Resources, Inc. Investor

Eric Anderson, Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, Planetary Resources, Inc.

Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, Planetary Resources, Inc.

Chris Lewicki, President & Chief Engineer, Planetary Resources, Inc.

Tom Jones, Ph.D., Planetary Scientist, Veteran NASA Astronaut & Planetary Resources, Inc. Advisor

WHERE:           Charles Simonyi Space Gallery at The Museum of Flight

9404 East Marginal Way South  

Seattle, WA 98108

Event will also be streamed online.


The backer team is pretty impressive, and there's no shortage of speculation. As article points out, it could be asteroid mining.

Really, what's there in space that is so profitable?

Discuss.
 
well, I'm sure there's plenty of stuff in space that could be profitable and nobody has mining rights to if you could figure a way to overcome the expense of extraction and transportation.
which seems pretty unlikely.

I'd think it'd be much cheaper to keep enslaving south african kids.
 
Sounds like a scam to me, either that or jobless astronauts are looking for attention.

But jeah at some point we will have to look for resources beyond our little planet, just not now.
 
Atomkilla said:
Really, what's there in space that is so profitable?
Click to expand...

Asteroids do have rare earth elements in them but the profit is completely offset by how expensive it is to launch a spaceship to get to the asteroids.
It would be feasible if there was a space elevator but those are still at the theoretical stage so it sounds pretty wonky.

Might end up as a consultancy group or something rather than doing any real work.

With all those names attached you would think they could get the U.S government to give NASA a half decent budget (currently 0.5% of the federal budget) instead of swanning of on their own thing.
 
Alphadrop said:
Asteroids do have rare earth elements in them but the profit is completely offset by how expensive it is to launch a spaceship to get to the asteroids.
It would be feasible if there was a space elevator but those are still at the theoretical stage so it sounds pretty wonky.
Click to expand...

Which is exactly what bugs me. This can hardly beyond the theory stage, but it does sound interesting.

Alphadrop said:
Might end up as a consultancy group or something rather than doing any real work.
Click to expand...

I though of that too, yeah, or at least them being some sort of team which would promote the idea of space mining (doesn't that sound stupid?) in the near future.

But who knows? Guess we'll have to wait until Thursday. I sure wouldn't put my money on it being something big, bigger than some classy talk, but I'm pretty sure it will be worth listening.
 
eom said:
I'd think it'd be much cheaper to keep enslaving south african kids.
Click to expand...

The (actual) value of diamonds (for anyone but De Beers) is actually very low.
Mining for stuff like monazite, promethium, gadolinium, etc. would maybe offset the costs - and not cause global economic meltdown like mining for gold would - but I wouldn't know if meteors even carry those minerals.

If they actually were planning to build a carbon-nanotube space evelevator or somesuch, though, they'd be the greatest people to have ever walked the earth.
 
I'm thinking you could partially offset the cost by sending only the earth's most hardened criminals and psychopaths up there to do the actual mining, then place cameras everywhere for both a reality show and footage for cameron's next half dozen films, saving money on guys like statham, or whoever.

use a rail gun to deliver the ore, and the middle east could accept delivery.
 
Jebus said:
but I wouldn't know if meteors even carry those minerals.
Click to expand...

Why not. If there's some on earth, there's bound to be some in space. We are all made of stardust after all.
 
Let's spend billions just to find out, or we could dig to the center of the Earth and tap the molten rock, either way Humans are crazy! :wink:
 
Well if they looking for people who are interested in doing space mining I would definitely be interested.

If they manage to set up self sufficient colonies I would be even more eager to join as I sometimes think its only a matter before everything is going to hell here on Earth.

And once in a while I could 'accidentally' fail at capturing the capsules full of mined goods launched from the asteroid belt, or aim the mass driver on the Moon wrong by several degrees, wiping out some parliament of government building.

Oh well, accidents happen.
 
It costs roughly $450 million to launch a space shuttle (i.e. a single mission). And it costs about $20000 to launch one kilogram of whatever into space.

These insane figures explain why (for instance) we don't launch our garbage into space to get rid of it: it's just too costly.

Similarly, launching big drills, machines, robots ... into space to mine for resources is economically speaking not feasible. Technically speaking it is not even possible at this point in time, and one might wonder if it'll ever be.

Science fiction belongs in Hollywood studios. And it'll stay there - most probably - for ever.
 
They should have to send Bruce Willis up there. He'll tear even the very living rock with his bare hands! In Bruce I trust.
 
Jebus said:
Mining for stuff like monazite, promethium, gadolinium, etc. would maybe offset the costs - and not cause global economic meltdown like mining for gold would - but I wouldn't know if meteors even carry those minerals.
Click to expand...

They could certainly carry large quantities of rare transition elements, lanthanides and to a lesser degree actinides.

Promethium, possibly not - all of it's isotopes are radioactive and are formed from alpha decay of higher lanthanides. It's most stable isotope Pm-146 iirc, has a half life of around 20 years. In other words, whilst Pm can and is created across the universe, virtually all of it decays before reaching us.

Also, what alec said - though that's me being pessimistic.
 
alec said:
Similarly, launching big drills, machines, robots ... into space to mine for resources is economically speaking not feasible. Technically speaking it is not even possible at this point in time, and one might wonder if it'll ever be.
Click to expand...
The nearest place to our earth is the moon (relatively speaking).

I remember some kind of article that explained the possibility of working and living on the moon and doing some mining or what ever. I mean it does sound nice in theory. Go to the moon. Get the industry there which is causing most of the pollution or really risky for the environment. A few things are already possible but as you say way to expensive.

The biggest problem though and that is no joke, is dust. It pretty much would destroy any kind of equipment since it will reach almost every spot.

I can only imagine that the situation on asteroids are even worse. And that is not even mentioning the distance.

I am surprised that there are even people which consider it a possibility or worth to think about it for now when we didn't even managed yet to get eventually some astronaut to the mars. I mean I sure don't believe its impossible. Eventually. One day. But the next mission for most space programms is the mars. And they assume it might be a reality in either 2020 or 2030 because at the moment it seems not to be very popular. Most people simply don't see a reason to send someone to Mars when with such high costs.
 
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