Re:SpaceX craft overshot Mars’ orbit and is headed to astero...
by le-mark on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @12:33PM
(#16326260)
My pet theory: Giant kevlar bag, surround asteroid, embed explosives, pulverize, cinch bag tight: bag-o-gravel :D
Re:SpaceX craft overshot Mars’ orbit and is headed to astero...
by TeMPOraL on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @12:45PM
(#16326382)
Change "embedded explosives" to the concentrated solar light I mentioned, and you've essentially described a mission proposal that I've seen in a NASA report.
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/eso_fin...
Scroll to page 11 for a picture.
For those curious about asteroid mining per se, there are plenty of ideas being prototyped right now - including the more obvious ones like two-part drills spinning in opposite direction, and the less obvious ones like using concentrated sunlight to heat up the asteroid and collecting the matter that outgasses from the hot spot.