Many factors such as technological developments, digitalization, artificial intelligence and advancement in autonomous systems guided mankind towards extra-terrestrial sources. In this context, the process of extracting raw materials from asteroids and small planets close to Earth is nowadays called as asteroid mining or space mining. Space mining aims for the sustainability of the raw materials whose reserves are low and expected to be depleted in the coming years.
Governments and corporations in a global scale are closely involved in space mining. These studies that can still be considered as in their infancy, seem to be mentioned frequently in the coming years. Various countries are in a colossal competition in space mining. Space mining, which will be amongst the most paramount technological studies of the future, attracts great attention in the USA, Russia, China, India, United Arab Emirates and other European countries. The main goal of the space mining, in which various investments and infrastructure works are made, is to obtain the limited resources on Earth from the extra-terrestrial asteroids and planets in close proximity of the Earth. Space mining aims for the sustainability of the raw materials whose reserves are about to be depleted on Earth.
A race in space will begin
According to a US investment bank Goldman Sachs whose headquarter is in New York, space mining will turn into a more profitable industry than any current businesses in the world in near future and the first billionaires will emerge. Considering the number of celestial objects, in other words, asteroids whose orbits are mainly between Mars and Jupiter, this prediction of Goldman Sachs seems to be coming true very soon. It is known that there are over 1 million asteroids in the Solar System.
There are many conditions for mineral mining in the world. In the mineral mining industry on Earth, it becomes imperative to fully comply with the regulations put forward by the deep rooted and strict laws. Current well-established laws for the mineral mining on Earth are now being updated for the legal infrastructure of space mining. The European Union has a legal infrastructure that allows the ores which were extracted from asteroids to be brought back to Earth, to be owned by corporations and to be sold with a profit.
The space mining market was valued at US $0.49 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach US $2.84 billion by the end of 2025.
The first step came from European countries
The first step has been taken in the space mining studies. The Luxembourg government has announced that it will support the mining works to be carried out on the asteroids financially and morally. Luxembourg, which will support new technologies to be created for space mining, also stated that it might directly invest in private companies and institutions that will operate in this sector. Jean-Jacques Dordain, former head of the European Space Agency, is also an advisor to Luxembourg’s space mining program. Additionally, financially strong countries such as the USA, Russia, China, India and the United Arab Emirates have also begun to be closely involved in space mining. There is already a competition between countries in space mining. It is foreseen that this international competition will continue in space in the following years.
Turkey also works
If the hard landing plan on the Moon, which is planned to be realized in 2023, is successful, Turkey will be able to start space mining studies. Within the scope of the National Space Program, space mining studies are of great importance. When the technological infrastructure studies of space mining are considered, it is a crucial advantage for Turkey to create the basis of these studies in an earlier period. Within the scope of the National Space Program, Turkey will also be able to state that “I exist in space mining”.
What will the future of space mining be like?
It is known that some of the mineral mines in the world, especially petroleum, will be depleted in a short period. At this point, mankind turned their face towards new pursuits and space mining started to make a name for itself with the developing technology. Countries and corporations seem to be capable of developing their studies which are still in their infancy period. On the other hand, countries and corporations also announce programs that reveal their visions for the future as well as international competition. It is considered that if the legal infrastructure of space mining can be fully established, the interest in this field will increase even more. Experts state that space mining will be among the lines of work with the highest added value in the future.
The quality of mines is important
It is obvious that space mining already includes a big scale economy. It is observed that the number of investments and studies in this field is increasing with each coming day. However, the contribution of space mining to national or corporate economies is currently cannot be predicted clearly. According to the experts, the quality of the extracted mines, the necessary equipment and costs for the procedures should be taken into account.
High tech products are used
Space mining, which is one of the popular business fields today, is a field directly fed by technological developments. High-tech products are used in space mining studies, the data obtained are analyzed by experts and the foundation of space mining studies is created. It is seen that especially unmanned aerial vehicles are preferred frequently in space mining.
