Mining of minerals from asteroids. Free Technical Library News

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Mining from asteroids

01.10.2020

The private Chinese space company Origin Space has announced preparations for the launch of the first spacecraft in the history of this country to extract useful resources outside the Earth. A small robotic probe, dubbed NEO-1, will be launched into Earth orbit this November.

NEO-1 is not a mining machine. Its weight is only 30 kilograms and its main task will be space reconnaissance. However, the next probe, which is scheduled to launch in a couple of years, will most likely already be a full-fledged space miner. The robotic probe NEO-1 is planned to be launched into a sun-synchronous orbit, at an altitude of about 500 kilometers above the Earth's surface. His target will be asteroids.

"The challenge is to master all aspects of small space object hunting: learn how to detect asteroids, perform docking maneuvers, manage groups of interceptor ships," said Yu Tianhong, co-founder of Origin Space.

The launch of the device as a second payload will be carried out using a Chinese launch vehicle of the Long March series ("Long March"). China also plans to launch the Yuanwang-2021 space telescope in 1. In fact, it will become a competitor to NEO-1. It has been nicknamed "Little Hubble" because one of its missions will be to search for asteroids that could both pose a threat to the Earth and be potential sources of valuable resources.

At the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022, the company is going to launch the NEO-2 robotic probe. It is currently under development, so the details of it are not yet known. However, the company indicates that the next mission is planned to land on the surface of the moon.

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The system was originally designed to treat retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited degenerative eye disease that causes severe visual impairment and often blindness. It consists of a miniature video camera installed in glasses, which is connected wirelessly to a receiver and an array of microelectrodes implanted in the patient's retina. The matrix, which covers a 20-degree viewing angle, stimulates the living cells of the retina with electrical impulses that reach the brain through the optic nerve. Although normal vision is not restored, patients can learn to interpret these signals and even recognize colors, capital letters, and objects.

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