Free Astronomy Magazine July-August 2018

JULY-AUGUST 2018 Having established that we know little or nothing about the chemical, physical and structural properties of asteroids important to mining operations, one wonders whether the investments that some companies are al- ready making are justified. The answer can be affirmative or negative depending on how far in the future we want to look. If the goal is to colonize space, it will be unavoid- able to resort, sooner or later, to resources offered in space (well beyond a handful of asteroids). However, it is implausible that this will happen in the near future. Compa- nies that are moving today to create the preconditions for the mining industry of the future do this to secure a dominant position when the market finally opens. That said, one wonders if they are playing a little too early. In addition to the enormous techno- logical and economic efforts that must be I n a distant fu- ture, human be- ings will massive- ly exploit the re- sources of the lunar subsurface to build perma- nent bases, spaceports and fuel depots for interplanetary