The Wealth In The Heavens (Extraterrestrial Mining)

illuminatus (65)in #steemstem • 7 years ago (edited)

There are several complaints about how we humans are using up a huge amount of the Earth's resources through mining, leading to deforestation, environmental pollution soil degradation, etc. In fact, if you ask some people, we are leaving the Earth a worse place than we found it, depriving coming generations of several benefits.

One of the major factors accused is mining, which is the extraction of mineral resources from the earth. Mining has several effects on the environment which may include loss of biodiversity, the formation of sinkholes, erosion, contamination of the soil and the water.

It is wrong for our beautiful planet to be subjected to all that we make it go through as a result of mining. However, we need the minerals that are mined for various purposes. So, what other alternative do we have? Extraterrestrial mining.

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What Is Extraterrestrial Mining?

Extraterrestrial mining is the exploitation of raw materials from celestial bodies which might include near Earth Objects such as some asteroids or comets or even other planets, minor planets or moon. Some of the materials that can be mined on asteroids include molybdenum, gold, tungsten, aluminium, platinum, iridium, gold, etc. (Maybe even unobtainium someday). For now, it appears that Earth is the only planet that supports life in the solar system. If that is correct, I think that makes us the lords of the solar system (Maybe we can even rent out or sell planets or moons to some alien species in need of a dwelling place some day)

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Consequences Of Asteroid Mining

The strain on Earth's minerals will be greatly increased.
A huge amount of money can be added to the Earth's economy
The colonization of the solar system begins
Various midway spaceports can be established along the solar system, where spacecraft travelling to different destinations can stop to be refueled and gather supplies.
It could serve as a potential source of employment for people, producing an entirely new industry.

While the concept of extraterrestrial mining might sound cool, let us remember that it will be a really expensive and challenging project to start. It will be requiring the melding of space travel and mining. Kind of reminiscent of Armageddon in a way. However, let's all watch and play our parts while the future unfolds to reveal something beautiful.