Microeconomics Asteroid Mining
MICROECONOMICS GROUP PROJECT
Asteroid Mining—Money-Maker or Starry-Eyed Fantasy?” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt http://hmcurrentevents.com/asteroid-mining%E2%80%94money-maker-or-starry-eyed-fantasy/. March 2013
ARTICLE SUMMARY: “Asteroid Mining—Money-Maker or Starry-Eyed Fantasy?” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt http://hmcurrentevents.com/asteroid-mining%E2%80%94money-maker-or-starry-eyed-fantasy/. March 2013
Ever since a recent asteroid almost collided with the Earth and the ensuing attempt to sell the precious metals that it may have left behind, there has been much excited talk of "asteroid mining," a potential business venture that may allow us to harvest the rare metals and elements within asteroids that are needed to fuel many industrial undertakings. These elements are not only rare and valuable, but expensive. People think that doing the harvesting in space and bringing the loot back home will make them a big profit, but the laws of supply and demand dictate otherwise. There are currently two options being explored: transporting precious metals to Earth, or doing the mining in space and living in zero-gravity environments, while being sustained by the life-giving elements of the asteroids: nitrogen, oxygen, and water. Both options pose challenges; for the first case, it seems economically impossible, while the latter option may be better suited for robots rather than humans. Time will tell if asteroid-mining becomes a viable business venture, or merely remains science fiction.
During the past 20 years the demand for products that rely on precious metals and rare earth elements has been increasing rapidly. These metals are valued for their unique properties. They are used in the production of computer hard drives, smartphones, batteries, wind turbine magnets, light bulbs, communication infrastructure, oil refining, and car production. Consequently, in order
Asteroid Mining—Money-Maker or Starry-Eyed Fantasy?” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt http://hmcurrentevents.com/asteroid-mining%E2%80%94money-maker-or-starry-eyed-fantasy/. March 2013
ARTICLE SUMMARY: “Asteroid Mining—Money-Maker or Starry-Eyed Fantasy?” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt http://hmcurrentevents.com/asteroid-mining%E2%80%94money-maker-or-starry-eyed-fantasy/. March 2013
Ever since a recent asteroid almost collided with the Earth and the ensuing attempt to sell the precious metals that it may have left behind, there has been much excited talk of "asteroid mining," a potential business venture that may allow us to harvest the rare metals and elements within asteroids that are needed to fuel many industrial undertakings. These elements are not only rare and valuable, but expensive. People think that doing the harvesting in space and bringing the loot back home will make them a big profit, but the laws of supply and demand dictate otherwise. There are currently two options being explored: transporting precious metals to Earth, or doing the mining in space and living in zero-gravity environments, while being sustained by the life-giving elements of the asteroids: nitrogen, oxygen, and water. Both options pose challenges; for the first case, it seems economically impossible, while the latter option may be better suited for robots rather than humans. Time will tell if asteroid-mining becomes a viable business venture, or merely remains science fiction.
During the past 20 years the demand for products that rely on precious metals and rare earth elements has been increasing rapidly. These metals are valued for their unique properties. They are used in the production of computer hard drives, smartphones, batteries, wind turbine magnets, light bulbs, communication infrastructure, oil refining, and car production. Consequently, in order