(Tom Merkle) writes:
Unfortunately, even a solid gold asteroid wouldn't pay for the cost of
developing a space transportation infrastructure. It'll have to be

Perhaps we should see it differently.

The point would not to be to bring back riches from space. It would
just be to LIVE there. That is, to bring men there. For this, it
should be shown that there is a better environment in space than on a
planet (for some definition of "better").

What have we the

- energy (when we're close enough to a star, let's not speak of
_deep_ space).

Earth receives only a tiny tiny bit of the energy produced by
the Sun. There is the potential to collect much more energy
in space. This means that humanity could develop as much as
it wants, collecting all the energy we need to feed and
survive.


- big chunks of rocks and minerals and CHON, easily (cost
effectively) accessed.

Earth too is a big chunk of rocks and minerals, but only a
thin peel of it is really accessible. So the interesting
resources are costly (in terms of energy) to get at. On the
contrary, in space, you can trade time for energy: with a
small push and enough time you can move asteroids wherever
you need them.


- a lot of room.

Not only (x,y,z), but also political room. In Earth, it's
quite hard to find a place where some tax collector or some
cop are not on your back. We can hope for more freedom in
space.


Now, what we don't have in space and have on Earth, is an
ecosystem. That may be considered an advantage or a penalty, depending
on the point of view and the progress of science and techniques...


Finding a gold asteroid in space would not mean that you would bring
it back down to Earth. Perhaps a few kilos, as change money when you
come down to Paris or Disney land as a tourist...

Note that already now, you can buy gold without physically possessing
it. It's kept at a bank and you have only a paper certificate of
ownership. You can ask for delivery of it at any time, but usually you
don't. If I found a gold asteroid, I would not bring it down, I would
open the First Asteroid Belt Bank -- FABB, and outsource on Earth
printing paper. With the money, I would build the launchers needed to
bring more brains and tools in space until we can be autosufficient.



--
__Pascal_Bourguignon__ http://www.informatimago.com/
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Do not adjust your mind, there is a fault in reality.