Asteroid UW-158 is set to wizz past Earth today, carrying an estimated five trillion dollars in platinum.
Spectroscopic analysis has revealed the composition of the asteroid, and made it a prime target for future asteroid-mining missions. It is approximately 452 metres by 1,011 metres in size. If the analysis is correct, it could be carrying an astonishing 90 million tons of platinum. It will swing past Earth at a distance of 2.4 million km, and will not be visible to the naked eye.
Paging Bruce Willis...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by nyder on Tuesday July 21 2015, @02:32AM
Seems to me that all the trillions we've spent on the middle east "wars" could of been a better investment if we had devoted the money to space. If we spent the last 2 decades developing a way to capture and then mine said asteroid, not only would this one possible pay back the investment, it paves the way to more and more.
But i guess wasting our resources on stuff that we can't replace here on earth is okay, not like we want our grandchildren to have decent lives.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @02:39AM
So in the future world we will mine hydrocarbons from the moons of Saturn and take all the extra CO2 from Earth to make an Atmosphere on Mars! Now where do we get extra O2 from?
Nuke Rockets will save the world!
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @07:21AM
solar energy + solar panels + CO2 => O2 + C
solar energy + solar panels + 2 x H2O (from some asteroids) => O2 + 2 x H2.
But trying to do any of that on Mars would be stupid. It's a gravity well with the wrong atmosphere, wrong pressure, wrong climate.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2015, @08:16AM
But it was Mars in Total Recall so it has to be Mars!
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday July 21 2015, @02:50AM
While space does to there is an arms factory and military base in most states.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by TheRaven on Tuesday July 21 2015, @08:13AM
sudo mod me up