An Asteroid Possibly Worth $10,000 Quadrillion Is NASA's New Mission

[kevindavis007]

The hulking celestial body is believed to be composed almost entirely of metal.


Forget the Mars, Jupiter and Milky Way missions. NASA is now setting its sights on an asteroid, and it's not just any asteroid.


It's called 16 Psyche and is believed to be made almost entirely of nickel and iron.


Most asteroids are made up of rock or ice. So researchers think this trip to Psyche could help us learn more about Earth's core, which is also thought to be composed of similar metals.


Read More: http://www.isn-news.net/2017/01/an-asteroid-possibly-worth-10000.html

[kevindavis007]

Space Ping!


@Oceander
@Sanguine
@Cripplecreek
@Freya
@EC
@Joe Wooten
@r9etb
@Just_Victor
@montanajoe
@Ghost Bear
@Free Vulcan
@Idaho_Cowboy
@geronl
@Scutter   

[Gefn]

I worked on Wall Street and I cannot grasp a quadrillion dollars.

[kevindavis007]

I worked on Wall Street and I cannot grasp a quadrillion dollars.

Well if you can I would invest in an Asteroid mining company..

[Cripplecreek]

Space ship factory.

Be nice if it were closer like inside the orbit of mars.

[Gefn]

Well if you can I would invest in an Asteroid mining company..

Is that like Jupiter Mining company? Only kidding. Any Red Dwarf fans here?

Seriously though, I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice.

[kevindavis007]

Space ship factory.

Be nice if it were closer like inside the orbit of mars.

Forget building ships on Earth, it has to be built in space.. Especially ships like the Enterprise..

[kevindavis007]

Is that like Jupiter Mining company? Only kidding. Any Red Dwarf fans here?

Seriously though, I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice.

Sure thing.. That is what I'm doing as well.

[Gefn]

Sure thing.. That is what I'm doing as well.

Let me know what you find.

[EC]

Do the old nine to five for a few billion years and you'll get close.

I know what I'm excited for about this:

Sure, it's worth a lot of money. That's nice, I guess.

It will give some clues about the Earth's core. Possibly enough additional information to settle the question of whether the asteroids ever coalesced as a planet before being torn apart again. All good to know.

It's a solid chunk of nickel iron over 100 miles long. That's a fleet of starship hulls, already in orbit.

[Gefn]

Do the old nine to five for a few billion years and you'll get close.

I know what I'm excited for about this:

Sure, it's worth a lot of money. That's nice, I guess.

It will give some clues about the Earth's core. Possibly enough additional information to settle the question of whether the asteroids ever coalesced as a planet before being torn apart again. All good to know.

It's a solid chunk of nickel iron over 100 miles long. That's a fleet of starship hulls, already in orbit.

I hate math. If it wasn't for algebra I could have gotten through chemistry and physics and been an astronomer, instead of a writer.

It's all good. I love being an amateur astronomer. I just wish I could have done it for a living.

[Cripplecreek]

Forget building ships on Earth, it has to be built in space.. Especially ships like the Enterprise..

Yup bigger really is better in space. We just can't launch big from the surface of earth.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

I worked on Wall Street and I cannot grasp a quadrillion dollars.

About the entire output of the US economy for the next 34 years (assuming 3% average growth).

[Frank Cannon]

Well if you can I would invest in an Asteroid mining company..

You are aware that once this metal rock lands here on earth the value of it will plummet because the scarcity will be long gone.

[ABX]

Once you subtract the raw metal value from the potential expense of space mining, what's the real margin?  The cost just to get equipment to space is around $50K/kilo (totally trying to remember that so feel free to correct it).  Cost of Nickel is currently $10K per tonne.

It may be actually cheaper to clean up the worldwide devastation of directing it to impact > mining it versus trying to space mine it.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Of course the more we mined this thing the less nickel would be worth and that would probably change its price.

[Cripplecreek]

About the entire output of the US economy for the next 34 years (assuming 3% average growth).

That's why the UN wanted us to sign on to the outer space treaty so we couldn't claim anything.

Screw em.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Once you subtract the raw metal value from the potential expense of space mining, what's the real margin?  The cost just to get equipment to space is around $50K/kilo (totally trying to remember that so feel free to correct it).  Cost of Nickel is currently $10K per tonne.

It may be actually cheaper to clean up the worldwide devastation of directing it to impact > mining it versus trying to space mine it.

There may be some environmental impact to deal with, but it's probably worth it in the long run to wipe Mecca off the face of the planet.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

You are aware that once this metal rock lands here on earth the value of it will plummet because the scarcity will be long gone.

 

[EC]

You are aware that once this metal rock lands here on earth the value of it will plummet because the scarcity will be long gone.

You are aware of just how valuable it is in orbit though?

If you are going to build any sort of space infrastructure you need materials. Now, $20 per ton delivered orbit to orbit, or $50 per pound delivered Earth to orbit? Which would you pick?

[Oceander]

Of course the more we mined this thing the less nickel would be worth and that would probably change its price.

At some point nickel wouldn't be worth a plug nickel. 

[Oceander]

Wouldn't this also be 10 pentrillion dollars?

[jpsb]

I worked on Wall Street and I cannot grasp a quadrillion dollars.

I think it is 1,000 trillions. Once we have cheap and reliable access to space we will have practically unlimited resources.

[kevindavis007]

Yup bigger really is better in space. We just can't launch big from the surface of earth.

 

[Cripplecreek]

You are aware of just how valuable it is in orbit though?

If you are going to build any sort of space infrastructure you need materials. Now, $20 per ton delivered orbit to orbit, or $50 per pound delivered Earth to orbit? Which would you pick?

There was a time when American mouths would water at the prospect of opening a new frontier and becoming fabulously wealthy in the process.

Human expansion always creates wealth and mining and using this asteroid in space could be our human big bang of ever accelerating expansion.

[INVAR]

It's a solid chunk of nickel iron over 100 miles long. That's a fleet of starship hulls, already in orbit.

Who needs a fleet?

Let's just build one of these!:



Or, if we must have a fleet:



Trump likes things YUUUUUUUUUUUGE so why not?

[ABX]

One other thing, for Nickel specifically as an example, price is due to scarcity. How quickly will the increased supply crash the value to make it an almost worthless metal and not worth mining.

I do like the suggestion that it is more valuable in space. Don't mine it, use it as a space infrastructure. Send robots to engineer it in space.

[Cripplecreek]

Who needs a fleet?


Trump likes things YUUUUUUUUUUUGE so why not?

In space you want huge. The only reason we send people up 3 to 5 at a time is the cost and inefficiency of rockets.

A ship with a crew of hundreds or even as few as dozens doesn't require them to be nearly as cross specialized.

[Smokin Joe]

I worked on Wall Street and I cannot grasp a quadrillion dollars.

No biggie. Zimbwabe made that easy enough. I have ten 100 trillion dollar bills (Zim). That's a Quadrillion, in the US. In Britain, the one would have to be followed by 24 zeroes, instead of the fifteen zeroes in the US quadrillion.

[Smokin Joe]

There was a time when American mouths would water at the prospect of opening a new frontier and becoming fabulously wealthy in the process.

Human expansion always creates wealth and mining and using this asteroid in space could be our human big bang of ever accelerating expansion.

If we used the material there that could really boost spacefaring with cheaper materials and the development of ways to mine and utilize them.