Why is Asteroid Mining seen as a popular idea? And, how can The Falcon Heavy Rocket Help in this Endeavor?

Asteroid mining: What is it? SpaceX Falcon Heavy could make it a reality

GETTY Mining for space rocks has long been a feature of science fiction, but it could in fact become reality in the future. At the Seattle World's Fair in 1962, US Vice President Lyndon Johnson reportedly said: "Someday we will be able to bring an asteroid containing billions of dollars worth of critically needed materials close to Earth to provide a vast source of mineral wealth to our factories."

From article, (At the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, US Vice President Lyndon Johnson reportedly said: “Someday we will be able to bring an asteroid containing billions of dollars worth of critically needed materials close to Earth to provide a vast source of mineral wealth to our factories.”

Some 13,000 asteroid pass close by to Earth yearly – known as Near-Earth Objects (NEOs).

What is asteroid mining?

According to Futurism.com, asteroid mining is the “exploitation and extraction of raw materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects”.

Materials can be mined form these objects and used for space construction or taken back to earth.

These materials have a staggering value, and “could help with humanity’s colonisation efforts”.

For example, the iron found in the asteroid 16 Psyche is worth an estimated $10 quintillion (£7.1 quintillion), according to NASA.

If it was possible to mine all the minerals found in the astroids between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter the total value would be enough to give every human being on Earth about $100 billion (£142 billion).

How could the Falcon Heavy make it a reality?

One astronomer, Martin Elvis, believes the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket, could make this a reality.

Earlier this month, Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon Heavy rocket into space.

Elvis, an astronomer from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics thinks that the massive rocket could be the spacecraft needed to land on an asteroid.

Getting to the asteroid in the first place is one of the main challenges of asteroid mining.

In order to do this mining equipment would need to break free from Earth’s orbit.

The thrust required to make this shift, known as delta-v, is so massive it is thought to be unprofitable.

The spacecraft would need to be powerful enough to switch between low-Earth orbit and orbit around the asteroid.

However, the Falcon Heavy is currently capable of greater thrust than any other active rocket on Earth.

Elvis told an audience at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Austin Texas that the Falcon Heavy could increase the number of asteroids we could potentially land on by a factor of 15.)

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