Hubble Telescope Captures a Rare Asteroid Worth 70k Times the Global Economy

Re:Hubble Telescope Captures a Rare Asteroid Worth 70k Times... by nate_meurer on Sunday March 28, 2021 @12:42PM (#26611758)

If you're referring to the earth's iron-nickel core, then the comparison is moot. Mining an asteroid is theoretically feasible. Mining the earth's core is not.

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Re:Hubble Telescope Captures a Rare Asteroid Worth 70k Times... by marcosdumay on Sunday March 28, 2021 @01:06PM (#26612016)

Hum, no. The crust is full of Fe already. It is probably much cheaper to get it from dirt than from this asteroid, but it's concentrated on a huge amount of places.

If it was about the core, the answer for Ni would also be obvious.

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Re:Hubble Telescope Captures a Rare Asteroid Worth 70k Times... by Turing_Machine on Sunday March 28, 2021 @03:22PM (#26613345)

> It is probably much cheaper to get it from dirt than from this asteroid

Well, delivery costs play a role as well.

If you're looking for iron for use on Earth, you're right. If you're looking for iron to use in space construction, the asteroid material is likely much cheaper.

If one believes (as I do) that the human race will either move into space or go extinct, then asteroids will be far more important for the future of our society.

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Re:Hubble Telescope Captures a Rare Asteroid Worth 70k Times... by nate_meurer on Sunday March 28, 2021 @01:10PM (#26612048)

> We would have to compare the costs of mining an asteroid with deep mining on Earth to discover if the Ni has any value

Perhaps I misunderstood. What do you mean by "deep mining" for nickel?

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