It’s the stuff of science fiction: Blasting off to the moon or an asteroid, drilling it, mining its resources and bringing some or all of it back to Earth.
But that fiction is getting closer to becoming a reality.
“The idea of extracting resources from asteroids and even our own moon has been around for a number of decades,” said Gordon “Oz” Osinski, a professor and planetary geologist with Western University in London, Ont. “But it’s only kind of coming a bit closer to reality these last few years.”
That’s because, after more than 50 years of focusing on low-Earth orbit in terms of a human presence in space, with astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, things are changing.
In 2025, humans will once again set foot on the moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program, of which an additional 29 countries having signed, including Canada. There will also be a new space station orbiting the moon as part of the program, called the Lunar Gateway, which will also have a Canadian contribution: Canadarm3. The station’s purpose is to eventually serve as a sort of jumping off point, to go to the moon, Mars, and beyond.
“Space mining is definitely going to happen. It is an inevitability, is not a possibility and it’s going to happen in the very near-term,” said Daniel Sax, co-founder and CEO at the Canadian Space Mining Corporation.
“There’s going to be space mining that occurs in the lunar environment within the next 10 years to make water and oxygen and other key consumables for space exploration.”
Sax’s company isn’t the only kid on the space mining block. Over the past decade, several companies have popped up — and many have failed. However, now, with a return to the moon on the horizon, space mining is becoming less of a dream and more of a goal backed by space agencies, including the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
The space agency is exploring the space applications of mining technologies, with a goal of “in situ resource utilization,” meaning resources extracted from the location to be used in the location, such as water on the moon. So far, two Canadian companies have received research funding from the CSA in terms of mining: the Canadian Space Mining Corporation, and another, Deltion Innovations Ltd.
“There’s talk about sustainable human presence in deep space with a focus on the initial step on the moon, and then further on to Mars and then, as NASA would say, and beyond,” said Christian Lange, executive director of the CSA’s Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program. “And all those sustainable exploration activities rely a lot on in situ resources so that when you get there, you don’t need to bring all your stuff. You will be able to start using resources on the planet or on the planetary body where you go.
“In terms of where Canada is, I think we are more on the initial focus of prospecting — so to really understand what resources exist with a focus on the moon.”
Then there’s the long-term goal of potentially mining asteroids.
On Oct. 13, NASA launched a mission to an asteroid called Psyche. It’s the largest known metal-rich asteroid, worth an estimated $10,000 quadrillion US. While there is no technology in place now to mine it or even bring it close to Earth where it could be mined, that is the dream of many startup space mining companies.
NASA launches mission to study metal-rich asteroid
Featured VideoA NASA mission to study an asteroid full of precious metals blasted off Friday. The Psyche mission — named for the asteroid it will study — will last six years and will provide data for future space mining.
“They are getting incredibly rare and difficult to find on Earth. At the same time, we need more and more of these elements because of the green economy. We need PGEs for batteries for solar panels. Many different aspects of the green economy need these PGEs, and I think we will reach a point where it will just become too expensive on Earth to mine them.”
Space law
Aside from the technical and financial hurdles that need to be cleared before we get to mining space resources comes a very real one: Who has ownership?
The Outer Space Treaty emerged from the UN’s Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in 1966, as the United States and the Soviet Union vied for space supremacy. In that, it says that no one nation can own any part of the moon or other other celestial body.
The Artemis Accords arrangement builds on the Outer Space Treaty. But that non-binding agreement is almost 45 years old and doesn’t take into account private industry. So there is still somewhat of a grey area.
“The moon agreement … made a very good improvement over Outer Space Treaty [in] that it allows you to go and explore and appropriate certain things,” said Ram Jakhu, a professor of law at McGill University’s Institute of Air and Space Law.
But, he added, even that agreement is outdated.
“As the technology is being developed, the law has to keep pace with that. So one should not determine what is going to happen 50 years from today on the basis of law today.”
For Sax, he’s optimistic that Canada can take a lead in a burgeoning industry.
“In Canada, it should be thought of as something strategic. In the [Canadian] Minerals and Metals Plan 2019, Canada’s mining strategy document, [Natural Resources Canada] identified it as of something that is strategically, nationally important to the country,” Sax said.
“This is a future industry that we could own as Canadians.”
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
The European Space Agency is fast-tracking a new mission called Ramses, which will fly to near-Earth asteroid 99942 Apophis and join the space rock in 2029 when it comes very close to our planet — closer even than the region where geosynchronous satellites sit.
Ramses is short for Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety and, as its name suggests, is the next phase in humanity’s efforts to learn more about near-Earth asteroids (NEOs) and how we might deflect them should one ever be discovered on a collision course with planet Earth.
In order to launch in time to rendezvous with Apophis in February 2029, scientists at the European Space Agency have been given permission to start planning Ramses even before the multinational space agency officially adopts the mission. The sanctioning and appropriation of funding for the Ramses mission will hopefully take place at ESA’s Ministerial Council meeting (involving representatives from each of ESA’s member states) in November of 2025. To arrive at Apophis in February 2029, launch would have to take place in April 2028, the agency says.
This is a big deal because large asteroids don’t come this close to Earth very often. It is thus scientifically precious that, on April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass within 19,794 miles (31,860 kilometers) of Earth. For comparison, geosynchronous orbit is 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above Earth’s surface. Such close fly-bys by asteroids hundreds of meters across (Apophis is about 1,230 feet, or 375 meters, across) only occur on average once every 5,000 to 10,000 years. Miss this one, and we’ve got a long time to wait for the next.
When Apophis was discovered in 2004, it was for a short time the most dangerous asteroid known, being classified as having the potential to impact with Earth possibly in 2029, 2036, or 2068. Should an asteroid of its size strike Earth, it could gouge out a crater several kilometers across and devastate a country with shock waves, flash heating and earth tremors. If it crashed down in the ocean, it could send a towering tsunami to devastate coastlines in multiple countries.
Over time, as our knowledge of Apophis’ orbit became more refined, however, the risk of impact greatly went down. Radar observations of the asteroid in March of 2021 reduced the uncertainty in Apophis’ orbit from hundreds of kilometers to just a few kilometers, finally removing any lingering worries about an impact — at least for the next 100 years. (Beyond 100 years, asteroid orbits can become too unpredictable to plot with any accuracy, but there’s currently no suggestion that an impact will occur after 100 years.) So, Earth is expected to be perfectly safe in 2029 when Apophis comes through. Still, scientists want to see how Apophis responds by coming so close to Earth and entering our planet’s gravitational field.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
“There is still so much we have yet to learn about asteroids but, until now, we have had to travel deep into the solar system to study them and perform experiments ourselves to interact with their surface,” said Patrick Michel, who is the Director of Research at CNRS at Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur in Nice, France, in a statement. “Nature is bringing one to us and conducting the experiment itself. All we need to do is watch as Apophis is stretched and squeezed by strong tidal forces that may trigger landslides and other disturbances and reveal new material from beneath the surface.”
The Goldstone radar’s imagery of asteroid 99942 Apophis as it made its closest approach to Earth, in March 2021. (Image credit: NASA/JPL–Caltech/NSF/AUI/GBO)
By arriving at Apophis before the asteroid’s close encounter with Earth, and sticking with it throughout the flyby and beyond, Ramses will be in prime position to conduct before-and-after surveys to see how Apophis reacts to Earth. By looking for disturbances Earth’s gravitational tidal forces trigger on the asteroid’s surface, Ramses will be able to learn about Apophis’ internal structure, density, porosity and composition, all of which are characteristics that we would need to first understand before considering how best to deflect a similar asteroid were one ever found to be on a collision course with our world.
Besides assisting in protecting Earth, learning about Apophis will give scientists further insights into how similar asteroids formed in the early solar system, and, in the process, how planets (including Earth) formed out of the same material.
One way we already know Earth will affect Apophis is by changing its orbit. Currently, Apophis is categorized as an Aten-type asteroid, which is what we call the class of near-Earth objects that have a shorter orbit around the sun than Earth does. Apophis currently gets as far as 0.92 astronomical units (137.6 million km, or 85.5 million miles) from the sun. However, our planet will give Apophis a gravitational nudge that will enlarge its orbit to 1.1 astronomical units (164.6 million km, or 102 million miles), such that its orbital period becomes longer than Earth’s.
It will then be classed as an Apollo-type asteroid.
Ramses won’t be alone in tracking Apophis. NASA has repurposed their OSIRIS-REx mission, which returned a sample from another near-Earth asteroid, 101955 Bennu, in 2023. However, the spacecraft, renamed OSIRIS-APEX (Apophis Explorer), won’t arrive at the asteroid until April 23, 2029, ten days after the close encounter with Earth. OSIRIS-APEX will initially perform a flyby of Apophis at a distance of about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) from the object, then return in June that year to settle into orbit around Apophis for an 18-month mission.
Related Stories:
Furthermore, the European Space Agency still plans on launching its Hera spacecraft in October 2024 to follow-up on the DART mission to the double asteroid Didymos and Dimorphos. DART impacted the latter in a test of kinetic impactor capabilities for potentially changing a hazardous asteroid’s orbit around our planet. Hera will survey the binary asteroid system and observe the crater made by DART’s sacrifice to gain a better understanding of Dimorphos’ structure and composition post-impact, so that we can place the results in context.
The more near-Earth asteroids like Dimorphos and Apophis that we study, the greater that context becomes. Perhaps, one day, the understanding that we have gained from these missions will indeed save our planet.
