Extra-terrestrial Mineral Production: Multiple Aspects of Sustainability
The production of minerals for human use at locations other than the Earth is expected to advance ... human prosperity in .. ways that do not compromise the potential prosperity and quality of life of future generations (Brundtland, 1987); in other words, sustainably. This paper examines the interaction of extra-terrestrial mineral production (ETMP) with the following sustainability imperatives: · The sustainability of human activities on Earth; · The sustainability of human activities elsewhere; · Human survival in general, the ultimate sustainability goal.Some of the consequences of mineral production on Earth are widely considered to decrease the future prosperity and quality of human life. Examples include noxious by-products or wastes and unsettling economic up- and downswings. Moving mineral production activities to extra-terrestrial locations, where appropriate, will decrease many of its deleterious effects.Terrestrial mineral production presently is decreasing in some countries and increasing in others,moving from the cheaper and easier ores to more expensive, difficult materials. When the full costs of maintaining the terrestrial environment in a sustainable manner are included, total mineral production costs must increase. The cost of extracting mineral products from extra-terrestrial sources will be substantially higher, especially in the initial phases, but as the full costs of terrestrial production increase, at some point in the future (different points for different minerals), the curves will cross (Fig.1). This will occur at different points for different materials, a process whose prediction will be complicated by substitution of cheaper materials for some uses as prices of the original material rise.In summary, mineral products from extra-terrestrial sources will tend to increase the sustainability of human civilization, once steady state has been reached.
Space mining Moon Mars Asteroids Comets Extra-terrestrial
L. S. Gertsch
Rock Mechanics and Explosives Research Center, Missouri University of Science and Technology, United States
国际会议
XXIV International Mineral Processing Congress(第24届国际矿物加工大会)
北京
英文
50-54
2008-09-24（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）