Book Description

Asteroid mining is the exploitation of raw materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Based on known terrestrial reserves, and growing consumption in both developed and developing countries, key elements needed for modern industry and food production could be exhausted on Earth within 50 to 60 years. In response, it has been suggested that platinum, cobalt and other valuable elements from asteroids may be mined and sent to Earth for profit, used to build solar-power satellites and space habitats, and water processed from ice to refuel orbiting propellant depots. Looking beyond the Milky Way, there are at least 2 trillion other galaxies in the observable universe. Space colonization can roughly be said to be possible when the necessary methods of space colonization become cheap enough to meet the cumulative funds that have been gathered for the purpose, in addition to estimated profits from commercial use of space. Intergalactic travel would either have to involve voyages lasting millions of years, or a possible faster than light propulsion method based on speculative physics, such as the Alcubierre drive. There are, however, no scientific reasons for stating that intergalactic travel is impossible in principle. Uploaded human minds or AI may be transmitted to other galaxies in the hope some intelligence there would receive and activate them.