Copernical Team
Opinion: As space exploration and colonization expand, off-Earth resources will create a booming market
The drive to explore deeper into space and establish colonies on other planets has intensified over the last decade, and with it the importance of space resources extraction.
Obtaining valuable resources and minerals, even in extreme environments, has long been attractive to humans. We have a history of facing hazards in search of valuable resources. From the gold rush in the 1800s to the recent surge in space resources, humans have been willing to take risks to find and collect scarce and profitable materials.
With advances in space technology, we're on the edge of the next gold rush—but not on Earth. Based on recent scientific and engineering breakthroughs and commercial interests, off-Earth mining is expected to begin in the next decade.
Potential mining sites include the moon, Mars and its moons, asteroids and even comets. Market predictions for lunar mining, particularly lunar water, project a multibillion-dollar industry by 2050. Although theoretical, these forecasts signal a worthwhile market, with Australia as a potential leader.
The motivation for off-Earth mining is multifaceted: access to an unlimited wealth of valuable space resources, the spirit of discovering new planets and the development of spin-off technologies to be used back on Earth.
NASA Scientists to Discuss Oct. 14 'Ring of Fire' Solar Eclipse
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NASA's Parker Solar Probe has racked up an impressive list of superlatives in its first five years of operations: It's the closest spacecraft to the sun, the fastest human-made object and the first mission to ever "touch the sun."
Now, Parker has one more feather to add to its sun-kissed cap: It's the first spacecraft ever to fly through a powerful solar explosion near the sun.
Earth from Space: Scorched Rhodes
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This summer, Europe experienced a relentless heatwave, fuelling wildfires in several countries. This Copernicus Sentinel-1 image shows the burn scars left by fires on the Greek island of Rhodes. Microsoft to offer OpenAI's Dall-E 3 in Bing
Microsoft on Thursday said it would integrate OpenAI's soon to be released Dall-E 3 image creation tool into its Bing search engine, in its latest effort to use artificial intelligence to compete with the almighty Google.
Two versions of Dall-E were developed by OpenAI and presaged the massive explosion of interest in generative AI that came when it released ChatGPT late last year.
Dall- Amazon empowers Alexa with generative AI
Amazon's popular Alexa digital assistant is about to be supercharged with the powers of generative artificial intelligence, the company said on Wednesday, as the tech giant steps into the AI race dominated by ChatGPT, Google and Microsoft.
Voice assistants like Alexa or Apple's Siri are often designated as perfect candidates to have their sometimes-glitchy and robot-like technology streamlin Webb finds carbon source on surface of Jupiter's moon Europa
Jupiter's moon Europa is one of a handful of worlds in our Solar System that could potentially harbour conditions suitable for life. Previous research has shown that beneath its water-ice crust lies a salty ocean of liquid water with a rocky seafloor. However, planetary scientists had not confirmed whether or not that ocean contained the chemicals needed for life, particularly carbon.
Astr Hidden ocean the source of CO2 on Jupiter moon
Carbon dioxide detected on Jupiter's moon Europa comes from the vast ocean beneath its icy shell, research using James Webb Space Telescope data indicated on Thursday, potentially bolstering hopes the hidden water could harbour life.
Scientists are confident there is a huge ocean of saltwater kilometres below Europa's ice-covered surface, making the moon a prime candidate for hosting extra-t NASA report looks at societal considerations for Artemis
NASA's Artemis missions have far-reaching scientific and exploratory goals, and a new report seeks to foster discussion about how the agency can make such dramatic progress in a way that takes ethical and societal considerations into account.
NASA will set precedents for decades to come as it implements Artemis activities, including landing the first woman and first person of color on the Historic NASA asteroid mission set for perilous return
NASA's first mission to retrieve an asteroid sample and return it to US soil is expected to reach a perilous finale on Sunday with a descent into the Utah desert.
Scientists hope the material - possibly the most ever retrieved by such a mission - will provide humanity with a better understanding on the formation of our solar system and how Earth became habitable.
The US space probe OSI