It is a popular idea in futurism to talk about mining asteroids and the mineral bounty that they will one day bring. In fact, it is predicted that the first trillionaire will make his or her fortune through mining asteroids source. Jeff Bezos maybe?
However, before that person makes their fortune there are a number of technological problems that need to be solved first.
One of these is how to deal with the very low gravity on asteroids, the other is zero atmosphere. In this post I will discuss two potential solutions to these issues.
An Extensive Cable and Tether System
So you make your claim for an asteroid at the UN and arrive at it 6 months later in your mining ship. The mining crew suit up to perform their first extravehicular activities (EVA) and whoops, within their first few steps they accidentally launch themselves into space.
Gravity is so low on small asteroids that people will literally have the ability to jump and launch themselves into sub-orbits or even to escape velocity if the asteroid is small enough.
Not good.
Therefore, the first job of any mining job will be to set up large networks of cables all around the work site at waist height. Then the astronaut-miners can clip onto the cables with their tethers and walk around the asteroid without fear. If the cable system is extensive then the miners could walk around for long distances, maybe even all the way around the asteroid if the system is large enough.
Every so often a newbie miner will make a mistake and accidentally launch upwards to the stars only to be yanked back shortly afterwards when the end of the tether line is reached.
Embarrassing yes, but no one dies so not a problem in the end.
Giant Air Bags In Space!
Another problem with asteroids is the distinct lack of an atmosphere. Working in a vacuum is a chore because space suits are cumbersome and you cannot scratch your nose when it itches.
Also, working with remote robots is awkward and tedious. It would be great if miners could work in a normal atmosphere and their shirtsleeves.
To enable this, future space miners may inflate huge domes at mining sites so that they could just walk out of their ships in coveralls and boots and maybe parkas to keep warm.
If the asteroid is small enough and the mineral deposit valuable enough the miners may envelope the entire asteroid in an inflatable bag. Since gravity would be so weak, slender poles could be used keep the fabric of the bag propped up and away from the surface.
Imagine that, an asteroid disappearing from sight underneath a giant air bag.
The hazard of a puncture would actually be small because it would take quite a long time for the air to escape. People would just need to walk to their nearest emergency station and wait until the repair crew duct tapes the rip closed (it's called speed tape actually and is used on airplanes all the time). Also everybody would be required to keep an emergency breather on hand in case of such an event.
Punctures are not as big a deal as it is made out to be in movies. The pressure will drop yes, but as pressure drops so does the air escape rate. This will give people lots of time to get to their shelters, suit up and repair the puncture or rip.
The biggest hazard of working in an asteroid mining operation would actually be quite mundane: rough asteroid dust getting into your lungs and blood stream and causing damage. Who knows what the health hazards of breathing in moon dust or asteroid dust will be to future workers (black lung, lung cancer, heart disease etc.).
I can see the lawsuits already.
Closing Words
Mining an asteroid would be fun for the first few weeks but like all jobs it will get old real fast. The lack of gravity will eventually get annoying and having to remember to clip into the tether system will be a fundamental part of everyone's training.
Working in a vacuum will also be awkward and tedious but it would be fun to inflate the very first asteroid air dome. Being the first humans to walk on an asteroid in shirt sleeves with no helmet would be a major achievement.
But please remember to always wear your dust filter over your nose and mouth to avoid getting 'asteroid lung'.
Thank you for reading my post.
About Me
My formal education was in Physics (B.Sc. with honours, University of Waterloo) and my M.Sc. (University of Waterloo) was also in physics in the area of experimental quantum mechanics. I eventually learned that quantum mechanics is fundamentally too weird for the human mind to understand so I got a job. My career, going on 25 years now, is in engineering physics.
I like to blog about STEM topics because:
- it helps me to crystallize my knowledge about things that I already know (the Feynman technique),
- it helps me to learn new topics that I want to know and
- I hope that it teaches and inspires people to be more interested in STEM.
My blogging style is to try to translate engineering, science and futurism concepts into something entertaining and also something that a layperson or STEM enthusiast would enjoy reading.
Post Sources
The first trillionaire: https://www.valuewalk.com/2018/04/asteroid-mining-world-trillionaire/
Speed tape #1: http://www.askthepilot.com/duct-tape/
Speed tape #2: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3102312/Shocked-passenger-takes-photo-airport-worker-using-TAPE-engine-shell-easyJet-plane-moments-off.html
The harmful effects of lunar dust: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_soil#Harmful_effects_of_lunar_dust