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Daniel Pinzon
Harlynn Ramsey
WRIT 340
4 December 2013
Abstract:
Asteroids killed the dinosaurs, but they may become humanity’s biggest industry. Asteroids are made up of key resources needed for deep space exploration, but more importantly they are composed of the elements being rapidly used up in modern industry. The potential for access to a near-infinite supply of resources is within reach. Near-Earth Asteroids are waiting to be utilized, and have the potential to create a trillion-dollar industry. Asteroid mining may sound like science fiction, but its just science.
Keywords:
Asteroid mining, mining, space exploration
Multimedia Suggestions: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/neo/index.cfm
Biography:
Daniel Pinzon is a senior studying mechanical engineering at USC. He is the structures team leader in a student project developing a lunar lander at USC.
Introduction
Near-Earth Asteroids contain an abundant supply of elements and minerals that are quickly being depleted by modern technological industries. Mining these near-Earth asteroids can provide an alternative to the current destructive terrestrial

Pinzon 2 excavation. The theory has been around for decades, but the technology has been slow to develop to make the theory become a reality. It is up to scientists and engineers to create the tools to make this idea possible and jump-start the space industry. The ability to acquire building material and rocket fuel out side the Earth is essential to the exploration of deep space.
Why Mine Asteroids?
Space miners set their eyes on asteroids for two things, water and metals.
According to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, there are over 10,000 near-Earth objects as of June 2013 [1]. A Near-Earth object is an object with a perihelion — point in orbit where object is closest to the Sun — distance, of less than 1.3
Astronomical Units (194,477,232 kilometers) [2]. The first missions in the space asteroid mining industry will focus on these near-Earth asteroids. Experience needs to be built near Earth’s orbit before venturing out to the asteroid belt in search of bigger riches. One of the ways asteroids are classified is by their composition. For asteroid miners, information about the contents of an asteroid is very important.
The near-Earth asteroids are classified into three categories, C-type, Stype, and M-type. C-type asteroids are asteroids containing carbonaceous materials such as carbon, hydrated materials, and organic chemicals; they make up about 75% of the NEOs. S-type asteroids are stony type of asteroids containing mostly iron and magnesium ores, and high levels of distinguishable minerals; they make up about 17% of the NEOs . M-type asteroids are asteroids composed of pure nickel-iron; they make up the remaining 8% with a small portion of rare asteroid types. [2]

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The M-type asteroids are of interest because of their platinum-group metals
(PGMs). Platinum-group metals are valuable and useful metals, they are used in electronics and as a catalyst in chemical reactions; yet they are scarce on Earth. 80% of platinum-group metals come from just 3 mines in Africa, and platinum sources are expected to deplete in 20 to 30 years [3]. Due to platinum’s scarcity the current market price of platinum is about $1600 an ounce. This means small metallic asteroid about 200 meters across could be worth $30 billion dollars [4]. Other metals can also be used directly in space. Iron and aluminum ore can be used for construction or industrial processes in space. Low gravity can enable amazing things to be done in terms of moving large objects and construction in space.
Structures can be built and moved without high regard for the buckling or bending caused by gravity. Space stations can use extraterrestrial metals for maintenance or upgrades without having to pay for the transport from Earth.
The C-type asteroids can be processed for water. Apart from its much-needed life sustaining capabilities in space, water has the potential to be used as radiation shielding in space stations, or in manufacturing processes. When broken down, hydrogen can recharge power cells, or be used as rocket fuel [5]. Having water accessible outside of Earth’s gravity can significantly reduce the cost of space travel and space exploration. A gallon of water weighs about 8.33 pounds and can cost tens of thousands of dollars to launch out of Earth’s gravity, which means a single waterrich asteroid 500 meters across would produce $5 trillion worth of usable water in space [5]. Sustainability of space travelers could be tackled using C-type asteroids as fuel depots during deep space travel.

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Yet another incentive to pursue the idea of asteroid mining is that over 1500 asteroids are as easy to reach as the moon, and several dozen asteroids require less energy than is required to put a television satellite into geostationary orbit [6]. Once the asteroids are targeted for their resources, the mission to reach these asteroids will be very simple. Missions to reach near-Earth asteroids will be low risk in comparison to previous space missions.
How to Find Asteroids
Before any resource extraction is started, space miners will need to target the most valuable asteroids to mine. Small fleets of low cost commercial robotic spacecraft will prospect for suitable asteroids.
The first scouting stage will consist of small telescopes located in low earth orbit that will gather spectral data to determine near-earth asteroids’ rough composition and market value. The second scouting state will consist of swarms of low-cost robotic spacecraft that will explore asteroids to specify their shape, surface and sub-surface composition, rotation, and accessibility of resources (see fig. 1) [4].
A process of elimination approach to scouting will ensure that the highest value asteroids are targeted for material extraction. This will increase the profit margin for such missions.

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Figure 1: Second stage prospecting spacecraft exploring an asteroid [6]
A second stage prospecting spacecraft is needed because the first set of spacecraft will not be able to provide information about the internal composition of asteroids.
This is a more expensive process that requires specific tools.
The second stage spacecraft will employ laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) instrumentation to analyze the metal and water content in an asteroid. The LIBS uses lasers to vaporize surface materials so sensors can analyze the light emitted by the resulting plasma to identity the elements that make up an asteroid (see fig. 2) [5].

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Figure 2: LIBS method used to determine asteroid composition
Source: Original
This LIBS method is currently being used in NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory. After acquiring data based on an asteroid’s composition the spacecraft would then send the analyzed results back to a control center on Earth, and would place a beacon on the asteroid if it proves to be of value. The beacon is used by mining spacecraft to locate targeted asteroids [5,6].
Mining Methods
There are several methods to extract an asteroid’s material. The method employed depends on the asteroid’s composition, and the final end use of the asteroid’s material. A targeted asteroid can be brought to near-Earth orbit; it can be placed around Earth’s, the moon’s, or the ISS’s orbit. Another option is to extract needed material on site and either bring the processed materials back to Earth or use the material in-situ [4]. If the asteroid’s concentration of metal is high, it makes sense to bring back the whole asteroid in a bag and tow spacecraft since the majority of the asteroid can be used. If the extracted material is to be used in a space

Pinzon 7 station or brought back to Earth, and the asteroid is not of a solid composition, the targeted asteroid would be mined and the raw material would be towed to near-
Earth orbit. This method will reduce the cost of transport by reducing unnecessary material weight, but will require mining equipment to be transported to the asteroid.
Innovation is needed in the material extraction techniques. Mining spacecraft won’t be able to land on target asteroids due to their lack of gravity. Spacecraft will have to dock to the asteroids. A simple hook won’t work because the surface material the hook grabs might fly away. An alternative method is to deploy drills that secure the craft to the surface [5]. If the asteroid is big, low-cost mining robots can crisscross an asteroid to extract its resources and bring them back to a larger craft [7]. M-type asteroids will small concentrations of metal will be mined with magnetic rakes coming off mining craft [4]. Magnets are placed on each prong of a rake like extension and are used to comb the loose regolith on the surface off the asteroid. The magnet collects the metal grains as the prongs of the rake dig into the sub-surface. C-Type asteroids will be processed with mining robots that can collect water-laden soil and heat it in ovens to release the water vapor, which can be collected, condensed to water, and stored in a tank [5].
Technology Needed
In order to tackle this endeavor, scientists and engineers need to work together to develop the tools necessary to perform autonomous mining operations.
The distance between the Earth and the asteroids will delay communication between craft and control center, so the asteroid mining robots will have to be

Pinzon 8 autonomous with limited high-level human input commands. Programmers will be essential to ensure that robots can make important decisions and perform mining tasks by themselves. New low gravitational processing and manufacturing techniques will have to be developed. Laser synthesis 3D printing will have to be able to be implemented in microgravity. This will enable faster manufacturing methods to be used in space to fix or upgrade spacecraft, satellites, and space stations. The technology to travel to, and land on an asteroid is available, but there needs to be a faster and cheaper process to do this. Unimaginable technology will be developed specifically for the asteroid mining industry.
Conclusion
The idea of mining asteroid seems far-fetched, but there are companies already working on this specific goal. Once operations begin a new industry will begin. More companies will follow through, and in a couple decades terrestrial mining will be minimal. The profit margin terrestrial mining can yield does not compare to the profit produced mining asteroids. An increase in abundance of rare metal resources could also enable new, unforeseen applications that exploit the properties of rare metals beyond the current state of practice. New technologies will develop, and the abundance of the rare metals will allow for better electronic mining robots. “Using the resources of space — to explore space — will enable large-scale exploration of the solar system” [6]. Reducing the cost of space travel is a crucial step to begin the exploration of deep space, and asteroid mining is the first step to fuel the growing space industry.

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References:
1.
Agle, DC. “Ten Thousandth Near-Earth Object Unearthed in Space”
(jpl.nasa.gov), [online] June 24 th , 2013 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-207 (Accessed: 15
November 2013)
2.
Nelson M.L, Britt D.T., Lebofsky L.A., Review of Asteroid Compositions,
Resources of Near-Earth Space, University of Arizona Press, Arizona, 1993
3.
McCrae, Michael Allan, “Infographic: Why asteroid mining is necessary”
(mining.com),[online] 9 th December 2012 http://www.mining.com/infographic-why-asteroid-mining-is-necessary-
88718/ (Accessed: 15 November 2013)
4.
Harris, Stephen. “Your questions answered: asteroid mining”
(theEngineer.co.uk), [online] 8 th April 2013 http://www.theengineer.co.uk/aerospace/in-depth/your-questionsanswered-asteroid-mining/1015966.article (Accessed: 15 November 2013)
5.
Belfiore, Michael. “How to Mine an Asteroid” (popularmechanics.com),
[online] 16 th August 2012 http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/news/how-to-mine-anasteroid-11644811 (Accessed: 15 November 2013)
6.
Planetary Resources — The Asteroid Mining Company, [online] 2013 http://www.planetaryresources.com (Accessed: 15 November 2013)
7.
Tate, Karl. “How Asteroid Mining Could Work (Infographic)” (space.com),
[online] 22 nd January 2013. http://www.space.com/15391-asteroid-miningspace-planetary-resources-infographic.html (Accessed: 15 November 2013)