The 150-foot-wide (45 meters) asteroid 2012 DA14 — which will zoom within 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers) of Earth on Friday, marking the closest approach by such a large space rock that astronomers have ever known about in advance — may harbor $65 billion of recoverable water and $130 billion in metals, say officials with celestial mining firm Deep Space Industries.
That's just a guess, they stressed, since 2012 DA14's composition is not well known and its size is an estimate based on the asteroid's brightness.
My Views/Comments: Oh..Great...Just a Guess...its not bad enough about pollution and global warming, with space junk, also that of Satellites, Space Stations orbiting the Earth, with the added danger of going into Space without getting hit...now DSI (Deep Space Industries), wants to Mine or Recycle Asteroids on the way by 17,200 miles away...just how many gallons of water at 8.5 pounds per gallon...costs $65 billion, and how does DSI get it to Earth...wait there's more!!! Also this Asteroid has $130 billion in metals...as in Gold, Silver, Iron, Lead, Steel or Aluminum.
Now it is Back to the Future, as the TV Show Salvage 1, from the late 1970's...starring Andy Griffith, who left Mayberry R.F.D. for Space Junk...as they say, what goes up, must come down. So lets not only pollute our Soil & Air, now the only way out of this mess...is into Space. Oh wait, lets explorer Mars too...why because eventually the Earth will self-destruct or is on a collision course with the Sun.
So nothing about undoing what Humans have done to the Earth, lets forge into Space leaving behind a littered Camp Ground and others to fend for themselves.
Who will be the First to inhabit Mars...will it be a Tax Free one way trip, without relocation fees, what about the cost of fuel to get there, never to return, and what do we do when get there...will we always have to wear a special outfit & clothing apparel...will there be Satellite TV without re-runs or commercials, Smarter-Phones, what about Tech Support, is that outsource there too...will there be a McDonald's, McSpace Nuggets, a Quarter Pounder will weigh an ounce...ah the future Not even going to ask about Health Care or Insurance, probably Self-Help.
And in reading the story further...to justify the cost "Deep Space Industries wants to use asteroid resources to help humanity expand its footprint out into the solar system. The company plans to convert space rock water into rocket fuel, which would be used to top off the tanks of off-Earth satellites and spaceships cheaply and efficiently.
Asteroid metals such as iron and nickel, for their part, would form the basis of a space-based manufacturing industry that could build spaceships, human habitats and other structures off the planet.
The idea is to dramatically reduce the amount of material that needs to be launched from Earth, since it currently costs at least $10 million to send 1 ton of material to high-Earth orbit, officials said.
"Getting these supplies to serve communications satellites and coming crewed missions to Mars from in-space sources like asteroids is key if we are going to explore and settle space," Tumlinson said."
More Comments: expand the Footprint, as it is on Earth...no thanks...hopscotching to Mars...so the future becomes Lost in Space, A Space Odyssey, Aliens, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Abbott and Costello Go to Mars, The Day the Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds as we step into Reality.
One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap & Bound for Mankind...the Twilight Zone or We now return control of your Computer & Internet to you. Until 2050 at that time, when you will relinquish control once again...as we take you back to — The Outer Limits.
Or why not wait until debris pummels to Earth...A meteor the size of a bus exploded in the atmosphere over the Russian Urals city of Chelyabinsk Friday, powerful sonic booms that shattered windows, damaged buildings, and injuries may be heading toward 1,000, mainly due to flying glass and debris.
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