Capitalism in Space
Companies and investors are realizing that everything we hold of value—metals, minerals, energy and real estate—are in near-infinite quantities in space. As space transportation and operations become more affordable, what was once seen as a wasteland will become the next gold rush… An average half-kilometer S-type asteroid is worth more than $20 trillion.
Full article on the pros and cons of commercializing the cosmos.
Wasn’t that the premise of the movie Avatar – mining an alien planet where unobtainium was in abundance for the taking?
The Wall Street Journal article doesn’t mention anything about the possibility of running into blue tiger-striped natives who are less than enthusiastic about being at the center of a new gold rush!
Cameron must have been a Bullwinkle fan. But back then it was called upsidasium.
How do you stake a claim on an astroid? Can I do it by peering through a telescope? Or do I have to fly there and plant a flag? Or write my name on it in yellow paint?
Tom, you register your claim with Star Fleet Command.
Imagine the cost of doing due diligence on an asteroid…