After all, they exist in vast abundance, and even fewer people will experience them than have walked through Antarctica’s icy landscapes. History suggests that those will be hard lines to hold, and it may be difficult to persuade the public that such barren environments are worth preserving. Others will suggest that glutting ourselves on space’s riches is not an acceptable alternative to developing more sustainable ways of earthly life. Some will argue that space’s “magnificent desolation” is not ours to despoil, just as they argue that our own planet’s poles should remain pristine. But its consequences – both here on Earth and in space – merit careful consideration.
At first glance, space mining seems to sidestep most environmental concerns: there is (probably!) no life on asteroids, and thus no habitats to trash. No doubt this will make a few billionaires even wealthier, but we all stand to gain: the mineral bounty and spin-off technologies could enrich us all.īut before the miners start firing up their rockets, we should pause for thought. The past year has seen a flurry of proposals aimed at bringing celestial riches down to Earth. The motivation for deep-space travel is shifting from discovery to economics. EVER since we took our first steps out of Africa, human exploration has been driven by the desire to secure resources.
