Asteroid Mining
“The Google guys and James Cameron are going into asteroid mining?” Spence says.
“They’ve already formed a company,” Admin says. “Planetary Resources. This is a very long-term project, but so was – for example – the exploration of our own planet.”
“What about people who say all our efforts should be focused on earthbound problems?”
“Earth’s resources are finite. If we hope to go on for a long time, we’ll need resources from somewhere else. That’s the practical side. There’s also a spiritual side.”
“Spiritual?”
“I’m talking about the human spirit. Isn’t curiosity a big part of it?”
“I’ve never thought about that,” Spence says. “Sorry – just a joke. But how do we know there are minerals on the asteroids?”
“A lot of the heavy minerals on earth came from asteroid hits,” Admin says. “The planet’s own supply got sucked to the core back in the molten ball days. The asteroids could also be a source of water.”
“What about mining the moon? It’s closer.”
“It’s another possibility, certainly for water. But I don’t know about heavy minerals there. There’s a lot I don’t know about this – but I suspect there’s one Plunderer out there who’s an expert on space mining, the legal side of it for sure.”
Welcome Henry and Barney; two patient waiters.
Tags: asteroid mining, asteroids, Google, James Cameron, moon
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 29th, 2012 at 9:25 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
9:42 am on April 29th, 2012
Maybe my girl can get into the legalities of space mining. She wants to become a lawyer and she argues about everything. It’s a perfect match.
9:46 am on April 29th, 2012
Space…the final frontier.
Good morning all.
9:56 am on April 29th, 2012
Good morning. Sunny and cool here today.
What Plunderer is refering to? Wookie’s dad is the only legal expert that comes to mind.
We have an Open House scheduled here from 1:00 to 3:00. Those are advertised on the radio and in the papers. Realtor will be here at 12:40, so we have to leave and not come back till 3:00. This is the realtor (CL) that I wanted to bite last year. I don’t like her and Barb says I am a good judge of people. Barb has a lot of last minute stuff to do, so BBL.
10:25 am on April 29th, 2012
Asteroids are not something we are vaguely familiar with, but we are looking forward to hearing more, especially from the expert Plunderer whomever that may be.
Siber, Sasha has been diagnosed with doggie alzheimers. She will be mad at us for telling you, but she won’t remember that later. Heh heh. Mom was giving her Clomipramine for a long time, but last Thursday they stopped just to see if it is really making a difference. So far we don’t think so. She has slept thru the night the last two nights, thank Dog. We feel much better now that we got two nights of sleep.
What is the story about Siber having soft food? We must have missed that. We all would rather eat goopy food, but mostly we only get kibble. Except for Sasha who gets some great Taste of the Wild on top of her kibble. Every day we others hope to find that on top of our kibble, but only the Special Girl gets it.
Maggie, the Magic Garden is gorgeous! It makes ours look pitiful. We have 4 raised beds that are 4″x8″ each. One of them has peas and lettuce. Another has potatoes and onions. The onion part has many weeds because we just don’t know what are onion shoots and what is grass. We never planted onions before. The other two beds are empty until we do our Mothers Day planting of tomatoes, beans, and peppers (we think).
Wolfie, please tell your mom that we are heartbroken for her, and for you too. We agree with the others that it is time for her to somehow move on and concentrate on her own healing. We are with you in spirit.
10:33 am on April 29th, 2012
Maybe they will launch the rockets for mining astroids from NM. We already have a commercial spaceport that is being built.
When you lose the desire to explore, you two-leggeds lose a part of you that makes you human.
The same can be said of us Sibers. We were born to want to know what is beyond the next mountain range.
10:37 am on April 29th, 2012
Today!…Another day of birthday celebration….grunt!…It never stops for someone. Her seats are right in the path of the foul balls…snort!… SiberH and Rose, if you see someone being carted out on a stretcher it will probably be her…heh!heh!…She doesn’t have a mit and no matter where she sits the balls always come very close….wheeze!…Today though, she is going to be a prime target…chorkel!
10:40 am on April 29th, 2012
Tattered!…Her and her pal are going to leave early and park close to the ballpark….snort!…They are going to splurge on parking because the tickets were a Gift!….Wooooooo!… The first 20,000 fans get some kind of tote bag. This will be used to carry whatever she buys at the Tattered Cover bookstore and the new toys she most surely will get for me!me!me!…heh!…Or maybe she can use it to catch one of those foul balls innit…snorkel!
10:48 am on April 29th, 2012
Rio, Your friend will have great time at the ballgame today and the Rockies will win. Hope she can get some good photographs and hope Helton is playing today. He is one of our favorites.
We will watch the game on tv so tell her to wave at us.
Fellow Sibers, We have never really heard how well Clomipramine works for doggy alzheimers. Mom’s dingo lived to be 17 1/2 and he had doggy alzehimers but that was before the drug was on the market. The symptoms would come and go and change just like Sasha’s seem to be doing.
I’m on soft food just for the weekend because on Friday I got a filling in my tooth at the doggy dentist’s clinic.
Barb, Hope the Open House today proves to be the one that sells your pretty house.
10:55 am on April 29th, 2012
Rio, Your friend should hold up a sign at the ballpark that says “Hello Siber-H, Rio, and Beau.”
11:03 am on April 29th, 2012
Pretty exciting stuff, I’d say. You said it B, Space – The Last Frontier. The company, Planetary Resources, is based here in the Seattle area.
11:20 am on April 29th, 2012
Oley, We usually do onion sets rather than onion seeds, as the results are much quicker. With the sets you will have scallions ready in about 4-5 weeks. We pick every other one, leaving the others to get larger for dry onions. You can use white, yellow or red for scallions, but reds will not keep as long as white and red at the end of the season.
11:33 am on April 29th, 2012
Hey youse guys!
Wolfe: My heart is breaking for you. There is room under the quilt right next to me…
OH: Strong prayers for Sasha.
Rio: Sounds like your friend is going to have a great day with her friend! How is today’s weather? I’ll look for the section with the EMTs lurking about…I’ll bet she catch a tote bag full of balls today! I hope she brings back a bunch of baseball toys for you and Beau!
11:58 am on April 29th, 2012
Rose? Are you watching the Mets/Rockies game?
12:05 pm on April 29th, 2012
Rio: I must say, your Friend is certainly enjoying her Birthday this year! Tell her to have a Great time at the game today.
Bear Hugs for Wolfie’s mom
12:17 pm on April 29th, 2012
Wölfie’s Mom: As so many of the Plunderers have told me … Take Care of Yourself First! Well, maybe Wölfie first, but otherwise you, you, you, you, you . . .
Next? Live Long and Prosper (with the correct hand salute!)
So where is the Astroid Belt?
12:18 pm on April 29th, 2012
And here is an article …
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/science/space/in-pursuit-of-riches-and-travelers-supplies-in-the-asteroid-belt.html
12:34 pm on April 29th, 2012
Being a rabid Science Fiction fan (My first introduction with the genre was at age 10 with “The Past Through Tomorrow” by Heinlein.) I read the entire adult section of SciFy in the library in less than 6 months.
Soooo, on that premise I might have some “expertise” in the subject (snicker), sometimes the astroids in the belt (which is really mostly empty space) hit each other and cause debris. Smaller pieces and dust. Some of these are sent near earth forming Meteors.
I believe that unlike the movie “Armageddon” they are not looking to mine one that is on a collision course with earth. snicker. Though in the movie when they do the “hero walk” it’s pretty cool.
Enough said. Hope to read more on this project.
Signing off,
The Science Nerd
12:40 pm on April 29th, 2012
PS, I think the cover artist made a big mistake with the cover of “The Dog Who Knew Too Much.” Not how I picture Chet at all. This dog looks like a border collie – haven’t seen one who weighed 30 pounds yet, much less 100.
1:02 pm on April 29th, 2012
Terry, We all agreed with you when we first saw the cover of The Dog Who Knew Too Much. I just carried on picturing Chet like I have always pictured Chet. The cover of the new book, “A Fistfull of Collars” returns to the Chet we all know and love.
1:17 pm on April 29th, 2012
Except for his white ear. grump
1:25 pm on April 29th, 2012
We are getting ready to head out. Barb won’t let me have any close encounters with CL, so I will be getting in the car a little early. Not a great day, but then we aren’t having hail and 50 mph winds either. Fingers and toes crossed. Later….
1:33 pm on April 29th, 2012
Good luck Barb.
1:39 pm on April 29th, 2012
Quite a group now under the quilt. Rose now ministering more than being ministered to. She is especially ocncerned about Wolfie’s Mom, as are we all. How do you mend a broken heart?
Melanie: Mom joins you in the class of Science Fiction Affectionados. Does that make us nerds? More like those that think outside the box we think.
Terry: As Siber says, we had quite the discussion about the cover of the book when The Dog Who first came out.
We miss Chet’s one white ear too.
2:00 pm on April 29th, 2012
We were wondering about Admin’s reference to the legal aspect of asteroid mining and found something called The Outer Space Treaty of 1967 – “Outer Space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty”. Wow! These guys were thinking ahead!
Wookie would know more about this.
2:13 pm on April 29th, 2012
Staff loves Science Fiction too. And Fantasy. Mr.Staff belonged to the Science Fiction book club when he was a teenager. When Mr.Staff brought her to the decrepit (now remodeled) old farmhouse (he lived in as a child) for the first time there were shelves of mouse-y dusty old book club editions of Science Fiction Classics there.
She married him anyway.
2:31 pm on April 29th, 2012
Siber-H or anyone, Which checkpoint came after Farewell Burn?
Inquiring minds need to know.
Safe trip AJ!
2:56 pm on April 29th, 2012
Barb&Maggie: More on Realtor Feng Shui…Place something yellow by the left side of the front door. Turns out the St Joseph cure is iffy…front yard or back, upside down or right side up, facing out or facing in?
We do wish a certain broker was not involved in this deal, but what can Barb do…being as she is the employee of said CL.
There must be a good reason Maggie tried to bite her.
3:02 pm on April 29th, 2012
I did check in with my dad about asteriod mining. I’ll give you the condensed version, because if you get my dad going on a subject like this, he can bore you to death and he is kind of a space cadet at times as well.
Aside from the more obvious conventional business and financial issues (getting investors to pony up gazillions of dollars, getting the rockets built to go to the asteriods, insurance-related issues etc.), on the legal side there are probably three major considerations (and BSD, you are right, the main law in this area is something known as The Outer Space Treaty — actually there are four other treaties that go along with it, but that is the main one). The first issue is one of sovereignty; if a country lands a rocket on an asteriod, can it claim ownership or sovereignty over it. That one is pretty simple, and the answer should be no. The second issue is liability related to contamination — both in terms of making sure that in exploring asteriods, we do not bring potentially contaminating items from earth to it (this is probably even more relevant in the case of interplanetary exploration) and that we do not bring back any potentially contaminating materials from the asteriod back into the earth’s environment and ecosystem where they could do damage In general, there is an obligation to avoid contamination risks and generally absolute liability if harmful contamination were to occur. The third area, which is also a liability concern, relates to the rockets themselves and liability if the rocket crashes either upon launch or upon return to earth. Also, even if it is a private company that causes the problem, the country sponsoring the activity (known in treaty-law parlance as the Launching State) itself has absolute liability. This is kind of a simplification of what my dad says are really complicated issues, but he kept rattling on and I kind of phased out after that.
Oh yes, SiberH, you are probably right, the launches could very well take off from the NM Spaceport, although some other states (Texas, Colorado, Florida, Virginia to mention a few) are looking to develop spaceports as well.
This isn’t all science fiction any more and there has been a lot written on the subject. One interesting book on this subject is called Moon Rush (by Dennis Wingo) which talks about the possibilities of harvesting resources and colonization of the moon.
Wookie
3:14 pm on April 29th, 2012
Thank you Wookie’s Dad. It is a fascinating subject.
Anyone else having constant problems with the blog page refreshing? Seems to be happening since the recent blog update.
3:24 pm on April 29th, 2012
SiberH: I Am watching the Met game as I type. I hope Rio’s friend is having a good time, and that maybe she will catch a ball.
I miss Chet’s white ear too.
3:32 pm on April 29th, 2012
Farewell Burn is between Rohn and Nikolai.
3:34 pm on April 29th, 2012
Melanie, Nikolai ia the first checkpoint after the Farewell Burn.
3:41 pm on April 29th, 2012
Bear, I am not having refresh problems at the moment, but I sure have that problem sometimes. I also have the comments, “slow down you are posting too fast” or “dupicate comment” appear when I post once in awhile.
Now, you all know me and can you imagine me posting too fast. ha
Thanks Wookie, That is very interesting.
3:49 pm on April 29th, 2012
Bear: It has been very slow refreshing for me for several days.
3:51 pm on April 29th, 2012
Happy Sunday afternoon, folks! We have a quick question…is the spring thing at Snowhook going to be an auction or boutique? Mom is finally getting on the ball about getting some items to donate (Barb, one item makes us think of your gardening grandaughter so you will have to watch for it.) Have to take pics of a couple of the items and send to Melanie for enhancement and get the descriptions done, but should be ready pretty soon. Just looking for that “really neat item” that could make some bucks…..
G&BB
4:05 pm on April 29th, 2012
Dear Space Alien
If a rocket from earth shows up on your planet or asteroid, get a really good lawyer to look over that treaty thing before you sign it
Trust us on this one.
4:11 pm on April 29th, 2012
T&G That is a really good one.
Gus&BooBear, Rio or Rebecca will need to answer that question, I think.
4:13 pm on April 29th, 2012
Thank you, BBL
4:42 pm on April 29th, 2012
We are back. Only 2 couples came today, but one was here for an hour +, and called the parents over to see it too. We will see what happens.
Bear, We recently put some yellow flowers to the left of the front door, outside on the front porch. Is that what you mean? Not really any place to put anything to the left on the inside.
As far as the CL, she is Barb’s boss and the listing agent. We are going to give it a couple more weeks to see if anything comes from the Open House. Afer that Barb is going to interview an agent who has a very good rep. in the area and who specializes in small farmettes like this one. We will see what she has to say, but if Barb lists with her she will be quitting her part time job.
And I was going to bite her because she needed biting!
6:04 pm on April 29th, 2012
OMD!! Rio’s friend got to see Helton hit a Grand Slam Home Run!! WOO WOO
6:34 pm on April 29th, 2012
SiberH: I had a feeling that was going to happen! Rio’s friend must be very happy. Isn’t he one of her favorites?
6:44 pm on April 29th, 2012
Rose, Helton is one of our favorites. He will be 39 in August. Maybe Rio’s friend got some photos of him.
6:49 pm on April 29th, 2012
I hope Rio’s friend took a bunch of pictures. It looks like a very nice day at Coors Field. I have been trying to scope her out in the crowd….
I hope Rio gets a new baseball toy!
6:59 pm on April 29th, 2012
SiberH: Do you think Rio’s friend will stay until the very end of the game?
7:04 pm on April 29th, 2012
Hi Guys,
Barb, here’s hoping the Open House couple make an offer.
The ‘rents just came back. They left with 2 horses in a trailer this morning, just as our neighbor’s horse and buggy drove on by. We thought we heard that horse whisper “Trailer Queens” as he trotted by.
Mom and Pop are dragging now, and we just can’t figure out what they did that exhausted them. They are talking about warm baths and bed. Aren’t they the life of the party…NOT.
7:07 pm on April 29th, 2012
Rose, I think she will stay till the end of the game unless the people she is with want to leave early. We’ve been looking for her also.
I’ve been wondering how difficult it is to get out of the parking lot once the game is over with.
7:40 pm on April 29th, 2012
Oley, Was the horse and buggy Amish or Pa. Dutch?
7:44 pm on April 29th, 2012
SiberH: Coors Field seems like a neighborhood ballpark much like Fenway. Perhaps it may not be that difficult leaving the stadium. Even though Yankee Stadium and Citifield are located right off major highways, you can’t image the traffic!
7:53 pm on April 29th, 2012
If Bella would check her SDD, it would be greatly appreciated.
9:26 pm on April 29th, 2012
Rio’s friend was also talking about going to the bookstore in Denver. I don’t remember the name of it. Was it the Tattered Cover? That could take a while too.
Staff was moving stuff around in the quilt room today. After about 2 hours she had made a little headway and added another pile to the floor where she had put 1-1/2 years worth of quilting and knitting stuff.
Sigh.
At least she added a cat seat to one of the windows.
She wonders if it would be legal to put all of the cloth bags she has collected up on the Musher’s Merc. They are the big new pile. What is it about cloth bags? She just can’t resist them.
(Neither can AbbietheKitty)
9:54 pm on April 29th, 2012
WOOOOOO!…snort!
9:58 pm on April 29th, 2012
Helton!…Hit a Grand Slam!…snort!
10:03 pm on April 29th, 2012
Dexter!…Stretching!…wheeze!
10:04 pm on April 29th, 2012
Dexter!…Stretching!…wheeze!
10:06 pm on April 29th, 2012
Rio, Mom says that is a pretty darn good picture of Helton…backside looks good.
I want to know where did you get the baseball?
10:08 pm on April 29th, 2012
Tulo!…Looking around…heh!heh!
10:10 pm on April 29th, 2012
WOO WOO (that is mom again)
10:11 pm on April 29th, 2012
Baseball!…She says she got it at the ballpark…heh!…I don’t think she caught it, even though there was that one that came really really close in the 3rd inning…sniff! …If she caught it, I will eat my tail…chorkel!
10:12 pm on April 29th, 2012
looks like Rio’s friend got to the park in time for the warmups. Mr.Staff and I like to do that. It is amazing to them how far some of those guys can stretch their bodies. Too bad the grand slam only tied it. Oh well, I bet it was fun!
10:15 pm on April 29th, 2012
She got to see Cargo hit a home run also!
10:21 pm on April 29th, 2012
Peyton!…Manning was at the game…snort!snort!…He got to see his pal Helton hit the Grand Slam!…Wooo!…Here is a photo of him. He is in the first row. The guy with the light blue shirt and black baseball cap…wheeze!… She could see him clearly with her binaculars, but her camera doesn’t have a very strong zoom on it…sniff!
10:34 pm on April 29th, 2012
Sunburnt!…Someone is really sunburnt even though she used sunscreen…ouch!yeep!
10:42 pm on April 29th, 2012
There were a lot of camera shots of Manning and the Rockies’ announcers talked about him a lot. They showed Manning and Helton visiting before the game.
10:48 pm on April 29th, 2012
Hush-hush!…They didn’t broadcast it at the game…snort!…She says no one knew he was there until they caught him on the Jumbotron right after Helton smacked that ball…heh!…They showed Manning for a few seconds and that was it. The guy sitting next to my friend found him in the crowd from that 3 second shot…heh!… He did not stay for the whole game…sniff!
10:48 pm on April 29th, 2012
Rio, I’m glad your friend had a good time at the game. It was a close one.
night all
12:25 am on April 30th, 2012
Goodnight everyone. I am thinking about getting rid of an old (Large) boom box and speakers and using the cabinet it is on for some of my hand crank sewing machines. Right now it is full of knitting magazines from 20-30 years ago. I think I can give them up too. Maybe. Snicker.
It is amazing what you can live without once you have been away from it for a while. You see things with fresh eyes that is for sure.
6:21 am on April 30th, 2012
Rio! Good morning! I was just taking a look at your friend’s pictures from the game. Very nice! I was trying to scope out the area where I thought she might be sitting, but she did not have a sign saying, “Hi Rio, Beau, and SiberH. That’s pretty cool that she saw Peyton Manning! As SiberH said, they were making a big deal about it on the television broadcast.
I really hope your friend had a great time!
(whispering) did you get any new toys?
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