What’s out there and how could we get it back here?

Dr Benny Peiser from Liverpool John Moores University returns to inform and entertain us, yet again, leading the discussion on Mining in Space.

We are talking about minerals in vast quantities but which minerals and how do we get them to Earth without burning up in the atmosphere? Space ships is the obvious answer but how do we get millions of tons of payload down to the earth’s surface without it costing so much as to make it economically totally infeasible? Does it need to come down?

And its not just minerals – there is a lot of He3 on the moon.  It could be a very useful fuel if we ever realise the Nuclear Fusion opportunity. There have been countless feasibility studies but who/what is going to make it happen?

When is it likely to happen? What are the implications for colonising the Moon, the Planets and indeed Space itself? What about manufacturing out in Space? Which country owns all this stuff and how would we decide? How would we get the factories out there? There would be a lot to resolve but is it just pie in the sky or a real opportunity?