Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

NASA Asteroid Mission -- Metals "Worth" Ten Thousand Quadrillion Dollars

posted by martyb on Friday January 20 2017, @02:17AM   Printer-friendly
from the iron-is-a-precious-metal? dept.

randomerr writes:

NASA wants to uncover the mystery behind the asteroid “16 Psyche.” that may contain a priceless treasure trove of minerals. “We’ve been to all the different planets, we’ve been to other asteroids. But we’ve never visited a body that has been made of entirely metal,” said Carol Polanskey, project scientist for the Psyche mission. Now NASA, led by researchers at Arizona State University, plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to orbit 16 Psyche – an asteroid roughly the size of Massachusetts, made of iron and other precious metals. The mission’s leader estimates that the iron alone on today’s market would be worth $10,000 quadrillion.

Previously: NASA Selects Two Missions to Visit Asteroids

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
NASA Asteroid Mission -- Metals "Worth" Ten Thousand Quadrillion Dollars | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 70 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday January 20 2017, @09:06PM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Friday January 20 2017, @09:06PM (#456707) Journal

    Maybe you are implying that an accident will happen and a city will be flattened. Yeah, I doubt that. But that's why you have the Moon and other places to put your first redirected asteroids.

    Landing an asteroid in the desert is probably going to have less environmental impact than strip mining. But it looks like we will only be using these resources in space for the next century or so, because of the physics and economics.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday January 22 2017, @08:18PM

    by frojack (1554) on Sunday January 22 2017, @08:18PM (#457410) Journal

    Landing an asteroid in the desert is probably going to have less environmental impact than strip mining.

    Math fail.

    Find a strip mine as big as Massachusetts and then we can talk.

    --
    No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday January 22 2017, @08:41PM

      by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Sunday January 22 2017, @08:41PM (#457418) Journal

      1. You don't have to land an asteroid the size of Massachusetts. Even a building sized asteroid could have a lot of useful material.
      2. There are deserted places that you can land it. It doesn't matter if you squash a few scorpions in the Sahara or crush a bit of ice in Antarctica.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]