It’s no surprise that mining can be detrimental to the environment, but the materials we gain have become vital in our everyday lives. What if we moved this process away from Earth? What if the rare materials we need to make machines and technology could be mined from space? Need iron? We could mine an asteroid made of iron. Titanium? Same answer. It’s not just mining, though; asteroids could be incredibly useful for interplanetary travel.
An asteroid could act as both a motel and a gas station. Instead of having to make a non-stop trip to Mars, you could refuel and rest at an asteroid along the way. It would make the journey easier and more efficient. We could even turn an asteroid with an abundant supply of resources for rocket fuel into a space station.
Who would ever want to work in a place deprived of human contact? If we look at it from the mining perspective, it’s not as big of an issue as it might seem. We wouldn’t send real humans to work there, but instead, robots would do the job. At the pace we're going at, this doesn’t seem like science fiction. Mining doesn’t require a human touch; we could program robots to do the mining, storing, and transportation of ores that would ultimately be sent back to Earth regularly.
On the first few missions to set up mining outposts, we could have humans oversee the operations and iron out any imperfections. Once the process is up and running, the human team could move to the next asteroid and repeat the process. We have the technology to make it possible, but with the current climate, it’s just not feasible. There has to be a point where it becomes the most viable and common-sense option; until then, it most likely won’t be funded.
I like to imagine it as a shallow creek, with Earth on one side and a distant object or planet on the other—we're trying to cross from here to there. There are some rocks above the surface of the water that you can use as stepping stones. These stones are asteroids. Encampments on these would serve as places to rest on your journey across. Making a one-way trip won’t be in our cards for a while, so until then, we need to find ways to navigate, sustain, and adapt. These stones—these asteroids—could represent the small, significant milestones in our progress toward exploring beyond the horizons.