Mining Asteroids

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Discussion

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,777 posts

264 months

Saturday 5th May 2012
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Not sure what you are saying but science fiction literature has been using asteroid mining as a plot device since before World War 2.

Engineer1

10,486 posts

208 months

Saturday 5th May 2012
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With Asteroid mining, when will we get the orbital ship yards? or the Orbital factories as without these mining an asteroid is an expensive hobby. Sign me up for a few shifts in either wink

bob1179

14,107 posts

208 months

Monday 14th May 2012
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Eric Mc said:
I was always a big fan of David A Hardy's space art.

here's a picture that was originally printed in his 1978 book "New Challenge of the Stars".

I actually have this book at home, my grand mother gave it to me as a child. I still love the artwork inside, especially towards the end where it goes on to discuss other worlds and how they might look. Absolutely fascinating when I was a child.

Edited to add, wasn't the picture you posted above of an 'Asteroid Ark' and it depicts it slowing down and going into orbit around an unknown world? The small space ships have been sent to intercept the 'Ark' and the occupants don't know whether they are 'friend or foe'.

Great stuff.

smile


Edited by bob1179 on Monday 14th May 10:52

MartG

20,621 posts

203 months

Monday 14th May 2012
quotequote all
bob1179 said:
Eric Mc said:
I was always a big fan of David A Hardy's space art.

here's a picture that was originally printed in his 1978 book "New Challenge of the Stars".

I actually have this book at home, my grand mother gave it to me as a child. I still love the artwork inside, especially towards the end where it goes on to discuss other worlds and how they might look. Absolutely fascinating when I was a child.

Edited to add, wasn't the picture you posted above of an 'Asteroid Ark' and it depicts it slowing down and going into orbit around an unknown world? The small space ships have been sent to intercept the 'Ark' and the occupants don't know whether they are 'friend or foe'.

Great stuff.

smile


Edited by bob1179 on Monday 14th May 10:52
Oddly in the 1977 copy of 'Challenge of the Stars' I have, while the asteroid/ship is the same, the planet and spacecraft are in the lower right, not left

bob1179

14,107 posts

208 months

Monday 14th May 2012
quotequote all
MartG said:
bob1179 said:
Eric Mc said:
I was always a big fan of David A Hardy's space art.

here's a picture that was originally printed in his 1978 book "New Challenge of the Stars".

I actually have this book at home, my grand mother gave it to me as a child. I still love the artwork inside, especially towards the end where it goes on to discuss other worlds and how they might look. Absolutely fascinating when I was a child.

Edited to add, wasn't the picture you posted above of an 'Asteroid Ark' and it depicts it slowing down and going into orbit around an unknown world? The small space ships have been sent to intercept the 'Ark' and the occupants don't know whether they are 'friend or foe'.

Great stuff.

smile


Edited by bob1179 on Monday 14th May 10:52
Oddly in the 1977 copy of 'Challenge of the Stars' I have, while the asteroid/ship is the same, the planet and spacecraft are in the lower right, not left
I just Googled David A. Hardy and it turns out he has released a follow up book with the foreward by Patrick Moore - Futures: 50 Years In Space The New Challenge. I have just ordered a copy from Amazon.

smile

Eric Mc

Original Poster:

121,777 posts

264 months

Monday 14th May 2012
quotequote all
The original book was released in 1972, which I bought with my pocket money - and still have.

An emended version was published 5 years later in 1977 - which I also have. The later version was a bit more "science fictiony", possibly as a result of the "Star Wars" effect.

A number of the paintings were amended as well. For instance, in the original book, the depiction of astronauts working on the surface of Mars showed a deep blue sky whilst the same painting in the 1977 book features a corrected orange/pink sky. Of course, between the two books, Viking had landed on Mars and shown us what the view from the surface was REALLY like.

A similar view from the surface of Titan in the 1972 book had a green sky. It was known that Titan had lots of methane in the atmosphere and most artists' impressions showed a greenish hue to the atmosphere. By 1977 it was realised that nitrogen was even more prevelant and that the sky was probably of a more yellow tint. The picture was amended for the 1977 edition.

It's amazing how rapidly our knowledge of the solar system was advancing at that time.

If anyone is interested in space art, the granddaddy of them all as Chesley Bonnestell.

I loved this book as a kid. It was on semi-permanent loan to me from our local library. It dates from 1964



His depiction of the surface of Mercury.


And Saturn from Titan - again, notice the assumption of a greenish/bluish sky -



And this close orbiting double star system -



All pretty impressive for paintings made in the 1940s and 50s.

Edited by Eric Mc on Monday 14th May 18:15

DRCAGE

499 posts

164 months

Friday 18th May 2012
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I'm guessing they wouldn't actually bring any of the stuff back (used in space etc)

But if they did, what would happen to the price of whatever it was? e.g gold

Could you bring too much back and supply and demand yourself out of any profit?

SystemParanoia

14,343 posts

197 months

Friday 18th May 2012
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not really, hoard it, then deliver it all at once crashing the market. you get even richer and everyone else is buggered.. especially countries who's money is index linked to the value of gold.

after that, use the rest of it for useful thinks like electronics and other stuff soft metals are useful for smile