MINING
in zero
gravity
MFA DEGREE PROJECT 2018
ADVANCED PRODUCT DESIGN Anders Sandström
With all of the challenges facing the mining industry today, what would it be like if we look to the stars for our future mining prospects?
2018
Regardless of new mining technologies and environmental regulations, the minerals we extract from the earth’s crust will eventually run out. Likewise, our society demands a constant increase of technology to improve our quality of life.
Mining in Zero Gravity is a speculative design project that of- fers a vision of our first attempt at mining platinum group met- als from asteroids by the year 2040. Kolibri is designed within the boundaries of the future challenges facing the mining industry and the development of our space industry.
ABSTRACT
MAIN SPONSOR
Epiroc has a market-leading position as a supplier for rock ex- cavation equipment, with 140 years of experience of innovating for sustainable productivity. After having worked and interned at their industrial design competence center, I know that they have an extensive knowledge in everything concerning the mining industry.
INDEX
01 02
03
04
INTRODUCTION
INITIAL RESEARCH
IDEATION
EVALUATION
08 Mining in Space?
10 Challenges In Mining 12 Designing Space Mining
16 Challenges In Mining 18 Future of Terrestrial Mining 20 Why Mine the Sky?
22 What Can We Expect to Find?
24 When Can This Happen?
26 How Will This Happen?
28 Why Platinum?
30 An Ocean of Research Papers 32 Interview with Adam Schilffarth 34 Premise
35 Goals & Wishes 36 Conclusions
40 Workshop at Epiroc 42 Constraints
44 Layout: Concept 1 46 Layout: Concept 2 48 Layout: Concept 3 50 Layout: Concept 4 52 Maintenance & Repair 54 Extraction
56 Return
60 Concept Evaluation
62 Chosen Concepts
64 Needed Parts
66 Product Journey
05 06
CONCEPTUALIZE 07
RESULT
REFLECTIONS & CONCLUSIONS
70 Mood Board 72 Sketching
76 The Spacecraft 78 Launch
80 In orbit 82 Departure 84 Arrival 86 Touch down 88 Mining
90 3D printed containers 92 Return
94 Layout 96 Anatomy
98 Repair from Earth 100 Exhibition 102 Physical Model 104 Renderings
112 Goals & Wishes Fulfillment 113 Work Process
114 References
116 Schedule
01 INTRODUCTION
7
INTRODUCTION
MINING IN SPACE?
Regardless of new mining technologies and environment regulations, the minerals we extract from the earth’s crust will eventually run out. One alternative is to look towards the stars for our future resources. Perhaps mining aster- oids will be common within our society; perhaps it will be a stepping-stone between current and future technologies?
Regardless we will most likely have to look off-planet for our material needs in the future.
ASTEROIDS
According to Planetary Resources, there are more than 16.000 near earth asteroids that contain the same minerals as our planet. Some also contain frozen water, which could be used to produce spacecraft propellant for further space exploration and sustain human life. It is estimated that an asteroid the size of a football field can contain more platinum than we have ever been able to extract from the earth throughout the history of mankind.
There are an enormous amount of resources floating in space. What kind of effect would that have on our society? Will precious metals become commonplace and allow a huge tech- nological burst in developing countries? If we mine off-planet will it help our world to recover from damages in the ecosys- tems? What would this mining process look like and what would it mean for a company like Epiroc? Most of all, how could industrial design play a vital role in this grand endeavor?
At this point it is too early to speculate on what kind of prod- uct could come out of this project. It could be anything from a wearable, mode of transportation, exploration and excava- tion. There are a lot of possible product solutions and I intend to find one where my skill set as an industrial designer will be most suitable.
9
Introduction
CHALLENGES IN MINING
PRODUCTIVITY AND DEMAND
Most of the easily accessible high-grade ores on the planet are on the verge of running out1. We have built our civilization on the minerals that we extract from the earth’s crust and we use them in every aspect of our lives. Demand for the main metals that mod- ern society needs to produce goods has increased dramatically over the past few decades, thereby increasing the extraction to meet this demand.
As an example, the cost of producing copper has risen 300% in the last 15 years, while ore grade has dropped 30% and demand has doubled2.
Mining companies are forced to dig deeper where minerals are more and more scarce and at the same time keep the operations profitable. Also by dig- ging deeper and deeper the hotter the temperatures.
We are now on the verge of reaching depths where mines become a hostile environment for human life.
SUSTAINABILITY
Our society is becoming more aware of the impact our industrial processes have on our planet and its climate. This has lead to stricter environmental regulations for the mining industry. Mining processes produce large volumes of waste, some of it highly toxic. This waste can result in acid mine drainage and groundwater contamination. Other problems include erosion, formation of sinkholes, loss of biodi- versity, and contamination of soil and surface water by chemicals from mining processes3.
Meeting the increasing demands for met- als also makes the mining industry one of the most energy-intensive industrial sectors. According to the International Energy Agency, between 8% and 10%
of the world total energy consumption is dedicated to the extraction of materials that the society demands, and that num- ber does not take into account metal- lurgical processes, transport and other mining-related activities. Despite stricter regulations mining has a detrimental effect on our environment and seems like it always will. At least as long as we continue to mine our own home world.
RELEVANCE
This is relevant for society since the cur- rent mining industry is on a downward slope. While ore grades are declining, costs are increasing and the ecological impact getting more severe, demand is steadily increasing. Our society is increasingly dependent on a functioning mining industry, so what happens when it no longer functions? Mining in space will become our only way forward if we intend to continue developing our society with the same materials as today.
11
Introduction
DESIGNING SPACE MINING
Some people become doctors or nurses, some be- come police officers or firefighters. Some of the most skilled people choose their profession based on em- pathy. That is why I became an industrial designer;
empathy. I may not be able to perform surgery and I don’t think I’m cut out to handle what a police officer goes through, but industrial design is my way of con- tributing to our society and the people around us.
The reason I chose space mining for my masters thesis is that it aligns very well with my design phi- losophy. Forward thinking ideas and projects that look long-term within future scenarios fascinate me.
The idea of mining in space may seem far-fetched, but when thinking of how our mining operations are affecting our planet and our finite resources, mining in space is likely to become a necessity.
As an industrial designer I see it as my job to put the user in the forefront and design solutions based on our practi- cal and emotional needs. What would it mean for the miner who is working in zero gravity far away from home or perhaps the miner on earth controlling advanced machinery across vast dis- tances in space? What would it mean for our society to have access to such vast amounts of resources as well as a step- ping-stone for further space exploration?
My hope is to show what space mining can look like, using human-centered de- sign to make people think and talk about how this future scenario might effect all of us, and even become reality.
PROCURER X02
This is the result of a 50 hour assignment during my summer internship at Atlas Copco in 2014. The brief was to design a future vision for Atlas Copco where the end result is a detailed rendering of the product.
I created the PROCURER X02, which is a space plane running on silicone oil.
It’s purpose was to approach asteroids, bolt itself into its surface and tow it into a stable orbit closer to earth. The wings fold out to become solar panels and its fuselage serves as infrastructure for further mining operations when the asteroid is in place.
I have always been interested in space travel and mining in space. This was just a quick and rather fictional attempt. I see my thesis as an opportunity to be able to really dig in to the subject and come out with a product solution that is inspirational yet anchored in facts and the latest research.
02 RESEARCH
CHALLENGES in mining
RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
With most of the easily-accessible high grade ores almost tapped out, companies are faced with the chal-
lenge of either mining low grade ore bodies or mining in difficult or
remote regions.1
REGULATION
As the regulations governing the disposal of mining waste materials become stricter, elemental analysis is becoming more important in the effort to reduce the release of
harmful chemicals.1
PROCESS CONTROL
Mining companies must employ a constant raw material analysis to ensure accurate process control.
This is due to the fact that if the composition of the ore body chang-
es, the extraction process will have to be changed quickly as well.1
AGING WORKFORCE
2019 US mining industry will need almost 80,000 extra replacement workers due to retirement. In the end, the key objective for this industry is to present itself as an attractive and exciting for career
development.4
WATER STRESS
Water has always been crucial for the mining industry and its impor- tance is increasing exponentially.
Mining uses 1% of the total indus- try water usage and some mines occur in areas under “water stress”.
More strict regulations will ask for better water footprint monitoring, quality control reporting, contami- nation control and mine closure
strategy.4
INNOVATION
Innovation is a critical theme for miners. However, many mining companies remain at the early stage of the adoption curve - plac-
ing most of their innovation focus on technological optimization of old
techniques rather than looking for new ways to configure and engage
externally.5
REGULATION
Increased public awareness of environmental issues reflects in a rise of environmental and noise regulations. Third world countries tighten up the regulations to catch up. How will this affect mining on or
off-planet in the future?6
FINANCE
Due to increasing scarcity of re- sources the profit margin for mines
narrows. Mines must now dig deeper and use more sophisticated
equipment to extract less ore than they used to. What will a future
mining operation look like?6
PEOPLE
Today the mining work force faces a generation shift. More people live in urban areas than ever before.
What will the future miner look like?
Where and how will she or he like to work?6
TECHNOLOGY
A long-time stagnation in develop- ment can result in a “frog leap”.
Tougher competition can segment the mining market. If that happens, the need for integration and coop- eration between different systems can become increasingly stronger.
TRUST & TRANSPARENCY
With end consumers being more interested and able to track the provenance of the material of their
goods, the most transparent and well behaved mining companies becomes the most successful. De- pending on the level of trust, mining
companies will either be ruled by third party oversight or trusted to
govern themselves.7
NON-MINERS ENTERS THE BUSINESS
While miners struggle, others seize the opportunity. Big brand technol-
ogy businesses acquire mining portfolios to deliver on a brand promise that the minerals that go
into their products are produced responsibly. They have a lot of capital and access to cutting edge
technologies.7
FUTURE OF TERRESTRIAL MINING
BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
Blockchain technology will allow consumers to verify the provenance of the raw materials in their products. Discerning consumers are increasingly interested in the provenance of their products and are prepared to pay for it. Geo-tagged cubic meters of ore could also be digitally traded with before it has
even been mined out of the ground.7
AUTOMATION
Automation is of high interest in the mining business.
They could safeguard productivity by eliminating human errors, operate in high risk environments and
operate in mines that are now too deep to support human life.7
DRONES
Drones are used to quickly map new mine areas, analyze mineral samples in real time, and optimize
haul routes. They detect erosion, track changes in vegetation, and search for defects in mining infrastructure that may endanger the environment.
They’re used for many of the high-risk jobs, such as transporting hazardous waste to dedicated storage facilities or checking for chemical contamination.7
3D PRINTING
Spare parts can be created on the spot to maintain mining machinery, without the hassle of ordering and shipping and less halts in production. This can also enable mining operations in hard to reach areas
where mines would need to be more self sufficient.7
why mine the sky?
EXPAND HUMANITIES PRESENCE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
By developing new technologies to be able to reach asteroids and the vast resources they contain, we would most likely see a further expanse of the human
race in to the solar system.8
FUELING STATIONS IN ORBIT FOR FUTURE SPACE MISSIONS
Since there would be no need to bring enormous amounts of fuel into space, it will be much easier to launch vehicles in to orbit. This will lead to greater possibili- ties to explore other planets in our solar system, and perhaps even colonize them.
It will also usher in a new business with a lot of potential for profit.8
VAST ACCESS TO RESOURCES WITHOUT DAMAGING THE EARTH
When we can obtain our much needed resources from space, there will be no need to risk the environment on our own
planet to access them. We will see eco systems beginning to restore themselves
and greater access to fresh water for other uses then mining.8
A RENAISSANCE IN ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
Platinum group metals are not only used for jewelry because of their luster. They are also important for our computer technology because of their unique characteristics. With
access to these metals we could potentially see a renaissance in advanced technology
on earth. Not only in the developed world but in developing countries as well.8
“The earth is a crumb in a supermarket of resources”
- Peter Diamandis | X Prize Foundation
THE SOLAR SYSTEM
THE ASTEROID BELT
NEAR EARTHOBJECT S
WHERE ARE THESE ASTEROIDS?
ASTEROIDS
In 1997 we were aware of about 33,000 asteroids in our solar system. In the past three decades that num- ber has increased enormously. In 2013 we had found 594,705 asteroids. This number keeps increasing since we are finding about 50 new asteroids every day.8
NEO
Even though that sounds like a lot, most of them are within the asteroid belt that stretches between
Mars and Jupiter, which is pretty far away. However, around 10,000 of these asteroids are what we call Near Earth Objects, or NEOs. These objects has an orbit which takes them very close to our earth, even closer to us than our moon. This means that they are easier to reach then the moon, a place that we have already visited repeatedly. The possibility of reaching them does not seem so far fetched.
≈ 600,000 Asteroids
≈ 10,000 Asteroids
You are here
how can it be done?
TYPE-C TYPE-s TYPE-m
Carbonaceous Chondrite
20% Volatiles. “Dirty Ice ball”
LL Chondrite
Rich in PGM’s
Iron Meteorite
Metals including platinum group metals
What can we expect to find?
Type-C asteroids appear dark through a telescope, which indicates that they are composed of carbon compounds.9
RESOURCES
Water, metal, organic com- pounds
PURPOSE
Rocket propellants and con- sumables, metal for 3D print- ing. Making rubber, plastic or methane for rocket fuel and CO2 for plants.
Type-S asteroids are much brighter and appear
“stony” in composition.
They are very high in plati- num content.9
RESOURCES
Platinum Group Metals
PURPOSE
Sell on Earth for use on Earth
Type-M asteroids are moder- ately bright and contains metal/
metal-stone mixtures. Esti- mates shows that the asteroid belt has a billion times more metal than all the metal ore on earth.9
RESOURCES
Iron, Cobalt, Nickel &
Platinum group metals
PURPOSE
Manufacture large hardware in space, infrastructure, support colonization missions and for sale on earth.
TYPES OF ASTEROIDS TO MINE
So far I learned that Near Earth Objects are the easiest for us to reach and therefore to mine. The question then becomes, what can we expect to find out there?
Much of what we know about asteroids comes from studying meteorites that have fallen down to earth.
They can not give us a complete picture of all the asteroids though. So to study the ones we can not
reach yet we use earth based telescopes. Asteroids are classified in to different types depending on how much light they absorb or reflect, their spectrum. This spectrum can then be used to determine what the asteroids consists of.9
Asteroids are then classified in to major categories and subcategories. I have gathered the three main categories that are the most interesting when consid- ering mining operations in space.
AMUN
earth’s output
2,48 KM
ASTEROID RESOURCE POTENTIAL
3554 AMUN
As an example to illustrate the resource potential of asteroids, here is Amun. It is the smallest known Type-M asteroid and was discovered in 1986. This illustration shows a comparison between the amount of resources in this one asteroid, compared to earths current output of the same resources.10
IRON & NICKEL
$8,000 Billion
IRON & NICKEL
$340 Billion
PLATINUM
$12 Billion
COBALT
$1,3 Billion
COBALT
$6,000 Billion
PLATINUM
$6,000 Billion
When we can start to mine an asteroid like this, we would be able to cover all of earths mining needs for decades to come. Just imagine what we could do with access to such vast resources.
BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY HUNDRED BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY
TRILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY
when can this happen?
THE VALUE OF WATER IN SPACE
Private companies, such as Planetary Resources, whose main mission is to start mining asteroids believe that extracting water in space is where it all begins.
Many believes that the first thing to focus on is ex- tracting water from Type-C asteroids. This water can be used as radiation shielding and life support, but more importantly, as rocket fuel.
The idea is to be able to make a profit by selling rocket fuel to space stations, satellites and planetary exploration missions. This will mean that spacecraft who are leaving earth will need to carry a lot less fuel in to space, since they can refuel in orbit. This will make launching spacecraft much cheaper and more effective.
It will also open up a completely new market, where space mining companies can earn a lot of money to fund further technology and mining opera- tions until they can eventually start mining for metals and minerals as well.
TIME LINE
Based on the amount of water excavated and traded with in space, Planetary Resources has estimated a time line of the progression of space mining.
I was quite surprised when I came across this graph, since the estimate seems a lot sooner than I initially thought. Between demonstrating the first water extraction from an asteroid in 2020, to a soci- ety travelling between planets in our solar system by 2055, is only 30 years.11 This means that we could actually be alive while our civilization spreads out across the solar system. Further more it also gives me a clearer picture of a possible horizon for my thesis project.
2010 1 10 100 1.000 10.000 100.000 1.000.000 TONS OF
WATER
2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050 2055
Demonstration Boosting Satellites, Fueling Space Stations
Supplying NASA Exploration Missions
Preliminary Metal Mining Operation Support
Supplying Private Mars Expedition
Arrival of Competing Water Mining Companies
Support First Private Colonization Efforts
Humanity Develops
Robust Multi-Planetary
Transport Network
how will this happen?
1 2 6
8
POTENTIAL MINING SCENARIO
1.
Place a telescope in earth orbit to more easily be able to spot Near Earth Objects and their composition. This way we will know which asteroids to examine first.2.
Launch a swarm of smaller satellites to examine chosen asteroids more closely. A benefit in numbers should some of them fail.3.
The swarm of satellites can map every millimeter of the asteroid to give a detailed picture of what the asteroid looks like. It must also be able to claim or tag them in some way4.
They satellites can also send small probes in to the asteroid to evaluate samples and further determine its composition.5.
The swarm of satellites must be able to evaluate the asteroid on site and can then send the information back to earth.3
4
5 7
6.
When a suitable asteroid has been chosen for mining, a second, larger spacecraft is launched.7.
The mining vessel will approach the asteroid. It will need to be able to anchor to it and de-spin and de-woble it, if needed. It will then start to extract the volatiles or minerals it was sent there to collect. It must be self sufficient and partially autonomous. It will likely be able to create some infrastructure and 3D print parts to repair it self.8.
If the extracted minerals are volatiles, they need to be processed to fuel and then sent to refueling stations in orbit. If they are minerals they also need to be pro- cessed for construction or return to earth. There are a few ideas of how to send minerals back to earth, such as pods and inflatable heat shielding. But my favorite idea so far is to print the minerals in to a foam material and simply drop them down to earth.33 % OIL 30 % COAL
24 % NATURAL GAS 7 % HYDRO
4 % NUCLEAR
2 % NON-HYDRO RENEWABLE
Why Platinum?
FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCY
“Currently fossil fuels account for 81% of the world’s primary energy. We need afford- able renewable sources of energy, but non-hydroelectric renewable provided only 2%
of the world’s energy consumption in 2010. They are too expensive because they rely on critical metals that are in short supply.”
THE GOAL IS NOT HIGHER CONSUMPTION
I chose to focus on Type-S asteroids, because they are the most rich in PGMs, and looked more closely at how we could use these metals. They are of course extremely rare and therefore very valuable. They are also essential for our computers and gadgets but also for more effective non-hydro electric genera- tion and fuel cell-technology. Unlimited access to these metals could change world wide access to high tech solutions as well as our dependency on fossil fuels.
INTERNET OF THINGS
“Within two decades there will be a global demand for over forty-five trillion sensors. This is formally known as the Internet of Things. The question then to ask is, where does the energy and resources come from to create these devices?”
SCARCITY
“With current exploration and extraction methods, there are not enough raw materials present on Earth for the world’s cur- rent population to experience the quality of life of the modern developed world“
– Microgravity Technology Demonstration: Stabilizing the surface of an asteroid that can be hollowed out
for radiation protection of human habitats
Credit: Scott Howe, JPL
An ocean of research papers
The subject of space travel is naturally a research intense subject. Thankfully I found a virtual trea- sure trove of research papers and concepts on the NASA website.
3D PRINTING IN SPACE
There is an enormous amount of research and con- cepts that has been studied with a large number of different collaboration partners. Many projects were unlike anything I had ever seen, such as the possibil- ity of 3D printing infrastructure on an asteroid so that it could alter its orbit to come closer to earth using entirely analog mechanical systems. No computer power in sight. When reading this I stumbled across a company called “Made in Space” that has already installed a working 3D printer on the International Space Station.
FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES
Reading through a large amount of research papers was no small task. However it gave me great insights into what organizations and companies within the space industry are planning and what could be pos- sible in the year 2040. I learned a lot about future solar panels, Plasma drills, propulsion technology, 3D printing, mining, habitats and so on.
SPACE AESTHETICS
I also gained insights in to the aesthetics of a future space industry. Since very few designers are working in this field, much of it is highly engineered. That of course works for an organization such as NASA, but what happens when private companies get involved?
They are more dependant on the aesthetics of their products ability to attract customers and investors.
So even if no one will operate a vehicle in space, would it still need to be designed to look attractive and reflect company values when it is displayed in media and sales pitches? I think the answer to that is yes.
2.1. Asteroidprospectors
The asteroid prospectors were small, only 200kg, so they could be launched as shared payloads for a discount.The plan was to launch several onavailable GTOlaunches and then wait in orbit until thelaunch window opens for the asteroid of interest. The design in based onthe 1999 Lunar Prospector with updates in avionics, power, and propulsion.
Avionics werefrom moderncubesats, power was advanced (i.e. stirling cycle) RTGs using Cerium144 instead of the way more expensive Pu238, andthe propulsionwas Electrode- less Lorentz Force (ELF) thrusters developedby Professors in our department and in life testing under USAF contracts. The start of life power out of theARTGs was 4 kWe, enough for trips to the NEAs of interest. Trajectorieswere simulated using the NASA-developedCopernicus Program. Fifteen Fig. 1. Flowchartof celestial's overall missionarchitecture. Processingof multiple NEO'sis supported inthe design, maximizingprofit for development.
Fig. 2. Miningarchitecture flowchart.
D.G. Andrewset al. / Acta Astronautica 108 (2015)106–118 108
19 Figure 2-6: Schematic of the Seed Craft Architecture. A modular solar electric propulsion system attached to a
common bus. Ahead of the bus are various modules for performing specific tasks required at the asteroid. The module is serviced by a common robotics traverse for transporting materials between operations.
2.4 MISSION IMPLEMENTATION—STOCKPILING MULTIPLE NEAS AT AN EARTHMOON LAGRANGE POINT
On its maiden voyage, in 2038, the RAMA Seed Craft will use electric propulsion and gravity assists to fly towards and intercept Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) 2009 UY19 which has a well-determined orbit, is 36- 163 meters wide, and will be within 15 Lunar Distances (LD) of Earth in 2039 and approximately every 33 years thereafter.After rendezvousing with 2009 UY19, the Seed Craft begins harvesting raw materials from the NEA’s surface and subsurface using ISRU technologies pioneered by the NASA KSC Swampworks team and industry asteroid mining initiatives.The Seed Craft will refine the raw material as needed and use the resulting processed feedstock to begin manufacturing necessary mechanical components. As components are made and qualified they are integrated into a large, complex design, which includes subsystems for mechanically driven attitude control, propulsion, energy storage, and autonomous navigation. Eventually, the asteroid itself becomes an autonomous, mechanical, free-flying
�
Asteroid Habitat Concept
Microgravity Technology Demonstration: Stabilizing the surface of an asteroid that can be hollowed out for radiation protection of human habitatsAsteroid with powder
regolith surface Robotic mobility system placing grid of anchors
3D Automated Additive Construction technology hardens and stabilizes surface
Asteroid is partially hollowed out
Inflatable habitat inserted and inflated
Docking nodes, propulsion systems
Credit: Scott Howe, JPL
Application: Printed “Sinterhab”Habitat Shells:
Credit: Scott Howe, JPL
The SSTO has a Gross Liftoff Weight (GLOW) of 3,931,000 lbm (1783 mT), a payload of 72,750 lbm (33 mT), and an empty weight of 288,000 lbm(130.6 mT). It is a Vertical Take Off, Vertical Landing (VTVL)configuration built almost entirely of advanced composites with a deployable, inflated base re-entry shield (seeFig. 4) made from flexible TPS materials similar to those usedon IRVE[11]. This approach allows for both low cost and the extremely low dry weight.
2.3. Space operations centers
There will be two or three Space Operations Centers, one at 1000–1300 km altitude and one athigh altitude (e.g. L5).
There might also be an optional SOCat GEO if the market for space manufactured GEOSAT Platforms takes off. The LEO SOC is where outbound payloads are assembled and
picked up by outbound ReNETs (hencethe high altitude) to insure a nuclear safe orbit. This orbitis also above 99% of the space debris, simplifying operations. The SOC is both a storage and transfer station for payloads trans-shipped out- bound, and a cash cow to generate profits prior to product return from the asteroids. I was a principal in the 1992 Commercial Space Transportation Study (CSTS)[12]where the six major Aerospace Companies inthe US joined forces to do an in depth look at what space markets would open if the cost of launch to orbit was reduced from the then current $5000 /lb to as low as $200 /lbusing a fully reusable launch system at high flight rates.
We interviewed hundreds of businessesand discovered a huge pent-up demand for zero-gee research space where proprietary techniques could be explored and utilized. This demand has never been satisfied becausethe ISS dis- courages proprietary research. Our SOCwas designed to meet this demand and guarantee lowlaunch costs by the high flight rates associated with mining.Bigelow is cur- rently advertising a zero-gee work spacefor $25 M for 60 days, and will probably get it. We were costing experiment lockers with support staff on orbitfor $100,000/month.
Fig. 6. LEO SOC configuration.
Fig. 7. (a) Miner module operations–setup and (b) miner module harvest and transport.
Fig. 8. Boring head for M-Type asteroid.
Fig. 9. M-Type Miner COJNOPs (sideview).
D.G. Andrews et al. / Acta Astronautica108 (2015) 106–118 110
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20170003296 2018-02-07T14:02:55+00:00Z
Interview with ADAM SCHILFFARTH
Technical Business Development Director | Planetary Resources
THE VALUE OF WATER IN SPACE
I contacted Planetary Resources to obtain more information about mining in space, from a com- pany who has made it their core business plan to do just that.
I got in contact with Adam Schilffarth who is the Technical Business Development Director at Plan- etary Resources. I had already learned quite a bit about their plans for mining in space but I wanted to learn more about the details of how it could work when it comes to propulsion, refueling in space and the legal framework that would be needed.
When speaking to him I realized further just how big this subject really is. There are so many factors that needs to be considered, such as how much weight we could get into orbit, orbital trajectory design, where refueling of spacecraft actually would take place and so on. I realized that there are a lot of factors that I simply would not have time to dig in to with the risk of having a very scattered final result.
This helped me further to narrow down my focus on the actual extraction of minerals from an asteroid and what would be needed to get there.
PROPULSION
The old fashioned way of propelling a spacecraft in space has been chemical propulsion, the ignition of hydrogen and oxygen to create thrust. At first I thought that I should look for something more new and exciting such as ion-propulsion or plasma rock- ets. However these technologies has a much lower impulse thrust, which means that they can go really fast, but need a lot of time to reach those speeds.
This also means that they need a lot of time to slow down as well. For spacecraft going further out in the solar system, this makes a lot of sense since they also require less fuel to operate.
My mining vehicle on the other hand will be travel- ling to a Near Earth Object, which will be closer to earth than the moon, so the distance is not really that great. My assumption is also that there will be infrastructure available in space by the year 2040 to refuel the mining vehicle. And when you can refuel rather easily, then spending more fuel to get there isn’t really a problem. It would be much more practi- cal to have higher impulse capability for this mission.
I decided that sticking to the old fashioned propul- sion method make more sense for my project.
MINERAL RIGHTS
There are currently no mineral rights for mining in space, which presents a problem. Currently you would own everything that you remove from the asteroid, but there is no way to claim mineral rights for a whole site as you can on a mining site on earth.
This means that no one is going to invest money in a mining site on an asteroid, because there is no actual site to invest in.
I believe that as we come closer and closer to asteroid mining becoming possible, the legal frame- work is likely to adapt to allow it. Especially if as- teroid mining would become a better alternative to terrestrial mining in 2040.
CHEMICAL PROPULSION
“High impulse is always a more efficient way to utilize your energy. And if you can refuel in space, it wouldn’t really matter if
you need more fuel”
MINERAL RIGHTS
“There are no mineral rights for asteroids, if there were, there would already be many
exploration missions to asteroids”
ELECTRICAL PROPULSION
“ION drives requires much less mass to reach the same momentum transfer. But on the
expanse of much less impulse thrust. This means that it will take you a while to get there”
2040
Reusable rockets are now standard and we can launch more cargo at a cheaper price per kg
CLEAN ENERGY
Many advances has been made in clean energy, but the required
minerals/metals are to rare and too expensive
to build them
REFUEL IN SPACE
We have thriving rocket propellant business in space, where compa- nies offers refueling of
spacecraft in orbit
MINING IN DECLINE
Depleting ore veins, stricter regulations and a lack of trust has made
mining far more expen- sive. Profit margins are slim at best and inves-
tors are backing off
MINERAL RIGHTS
The legal framework has evolved to allow for
mineral rights in space
TECH IS A CLASS ISSUE
High tech products that rely on PGMs and rare
earth minerals are so expensive that only the wealthy elite can enjoy
modern technology
INCREASED DEMAND
The worlds demand for rare earth metals have increased to a breaking
point
Premise
LIMITATIONS
To be able to decide the direction of the project, I needed to limit the project within certain boundar- ies. Such as horizon, type of operation, and sur- rounding conditions.
HORIZON 2040
I decided to base the horizon of this project on the year 2040. At this time we are expected to have be- gun a new area of business by supplying rocket fuel in space. This also means that it is the perfect time to start mining for metals and minerals.
MINING FOR METALS
I decided that my project should be focused on extracting minerals, because It is more interesting for me and Epiroc to find a way of translating what they know best how to do on earth, and move that in to space, which is rock drilling. This opens up oppor- tunities to look at mining in extreme environments, autonomous mining and machines that can directly evaluate mineral resources on-site.
Goals & wishes
GOALS
WISHES
ASTEROID MINING VEHICLE DESIGNED TO MINE METALS AUTONOMOUS/
REMOTE CONTROLLED ANALYZE MATERIAL ON SITE SELF SUFFICIENT
EMBODY EPIROC DESIGN VALUES
ABILITY TO RETURN METALS TO EARTH
ABLE TO CONSTRUCT INFRASTRUCTURE
EXTRACT AND MAKE USE OF VOLATILES AS WELL
GOALS & WISHES
These are the criteria that the final design was supposed to fulfill, where all Goals are consid- ered essential and Wishes are preferred, but not all essential.
Conclusions
TERRESTRIAL MINING AND ITS FUTURE
Terrestrial mining is facing a lot of problems. From a lack in trust, tightened regulations, an aging work force and a lack of innovation. More importantly though, we are facing the risk of running out of easily accessible resources to mine.
When speculating the future, nothing can be certain, but it seems that these factors will only con- tinue to get worse. The up side is that new technolo- gies, such as automation, tele-remote control and 3D printing, could help us mine resources that are much more difficult to reach. Regardless, mining only seems to become more and more expensive. It is likely that we will find ourselves in a position where mining asteroids could be cheaper than mining on earth.
WHY MINE THE SKY?
Presently we have found close to 600.000 asteroids in our solar system, most of them in the asteroid belt just beyond Mars. 10.000 of these are called Near Earth Objects or Near Earth Asteroids (NEO/
NEA). These asteroids are on an orbit that takes them closer to earth than our own moon, which means that they are easier for us to reach than the moon.
Asteroids contain the same building blocks as our planet, but the difference is when our earth formed the heaviest metals sank to our core. Metals such as Platinum Group Metals (PGMs). On asteroids howev- er, this has not been the case. The asteroids that we are most interested in are the ones that contain water that can be used for rocket fuel, radiation shielding, sustain human life in space. But also asteroids rich in PGMs and base metals such as Iron, Nickel and Cobalt.
The asteroid belt is estimated to contain many times more minerals than the we could ever find here on earth. An asteroid in the size of 500 meters in di- ameter could provide us with all the minerals that we would need for decades. So it goes without saying that the resources up there are plentiful.
Having access to such vast resources could bring a renaissance in our technological development on earth as well as making it a lot easier for us to spread out through our solar system.
TIME LINE
We are right now taking our very first steps towards mining asteroids and there are both private compa- nies and government agencies involved. By compar- ing our development in the aeronautics industry, from the Wright Brothers to a global business, estimates have been made on how fast we will develop in space mining.
The current estimate is that by 2055 we will have a stable trading network throughout our galaxy, with colonies and all, and the key to this is to start ex- tracting water to produce rocket fuel. Personally I think it sounds very optimistic, although I do believe we will be there at some point. However I am will- ing to go along with this estimate for the sake of my project.
SCENARIO
Everything needs to start somewhere and the cur- rent plan is to put a telescope in orbit. This would be used to find NEOs and estimate their water/mineral content. The second step would be to send out small drones to take a closer look at the chosen asteroids.
These would measure every millimeter of the NEA, probe them to analyze material, claim them and send the information back to earth.
Third step is launch a larger spacecraft, send it to the asteroid and start the actual mining process. This would need to be a completely self sufficient vehicle, that is partly autonomous, can create infrastructure, evaluate minerals and 3D print parts for repairs. The last part is then to partly process these materials and send them back to earth.
37
03 IDEATION
39
Workshop at Epiroc
To generate early concept ideas I had a workshop with my sponsor company: Epiroc
BRAINSTORMING
I had divided the workshop into three different topics;
layout of the craft, extraction method and mainte- nance/repair. I wanted to keep this workshop very open and just let the ideas flow freely. After a while I noticed that it was a bit difficult to just stick to one topic at the time so I leaned back and just allowed these great minds to fire away.
It was great to get ideas from people who are very experienced in designing for the mining industry and see how they came up with solutions when they had to put that thinking in to space. The workshop let to a lot of great ideas that I could later use to define the concepts.
ESTABLISHED CONCEPT CONCEPTS TO EVALUATE
PROPULSION
CHEMICAL
REFUEL ON-SITE
ENERGY
SOLAR
Return
TO BE ESTABLISHED
Constraints
Before I continued to generate concepts I needed to make some decisions regarding the configuration.
With the facts that I had previously learned I defined the different parts of the ship that I would need to consider. I also realized that I would not need to ex- plore all of them much further since the research had shown the best alternatives. I focused in on which ones I could establish already and which required more exploration
4
MAINTENANCE
TO BE ESTABLISHED
LAYOUT
TO BE ESTABLISHED
Control
SEMI AUTONOMOUS UPKEEP
3D PRINTING
SEMI AUTONOMOUS
IN SITU MANUFACTURING
Extraction
TO BE ESTABLISHED
1
3
2
MINING VESSEL WITH HELPERS
This concept is a mining vehicle where all mining equipment, processing, 3D printing and excavation is housed in the vehicle itself. It will have small drones that detaches from the main vehicle on arrival. Some of these drones will be able to collect volatiles that can be used for fuel and excavation, others will be used to maintain and repair the ship when needed. Simpler tasks can be performed autonomously, others can be performed with pre programmed directions from earth.
+ Main vessel can mine and drones can collect fuel and perform repairs + Mining operation in one vessel
+ Redundancy with multiple drones
1 LAYOUT: Concept 1
(Concepts are simple representations of ideas and do not represent the final design and form)
DRONES DOCKED
TO SHIP
COLLECTING VOLATILES
SHIP MAINTENANCE
MODULAR
This concept is a modular vehicle that travels in one piece to the asteroid, then splits into different modules upon arrival. The different modules will perform different tasks such as excavation, processing, energy collection, 3D-Printing and fuel production.
+ Different units performing different tasks, such as extraction, processing and energy collection
+ A mining operation in one vessel
– Transportation of energy, ore, etc between different sites on the asteroid
1 LAYOUT: Concept 2
(Concepts are simple representations of ideas and do not represent the final design and form)
REBUILDS ON SITE
This concept is a smaller vehicle with 3D printing and in-situ construction capabili- ties. It will collect base metals on arrival and use them to expand and reconstruct itself as a complete mining station on the asteroid. This means that we do not need to build a complete mining vehicle on earth and send it into space, but rather just the tools for constructing one. It will then complete itself on site with local resources.
+ Smaller vessel can be sent to the destination + Can expand itself on-site, using in situ material
– Depends on all needed material being available on-site
– Might render the vehicle unusable for future mining operations on other asteroids
1 LAYOUT: Concept 3
(Concepts are simple representations of ideas and do not represent the final design and form)
MOTHER SHIP WITH SWARM
This concept is a mother ship that houses all support infrastructure for mining, such as energy, maintenance bay and processing. It carries a large swarm of small drones that will perform the mining and excavation process, where many small operations together lead to a large whole.
+ Redundancy. One fails, several can replace it
– Could several small drones excavate enough quantities?
– Perhaps a hive of drones requires a rather large mass to be launched into space
1 LAYOUT: Concept 4
(Concepts are simple representations of ideas and do not represent the final design and form)
CONCEPT 1
SMALL ROBOTIC HELPERS
As mentioned in Layout: Concept 1, the vehicle is equipped with small drones that performs maintenance on the main
vehicle.
+ Can easily move around the vessel + Redundancy
– Extra weight into orbit?
2 Maintenance & Repair
(Concepts are simple representations of ideas and do not represent the final design and form)
I developed concepts to suggests how the min- ing vehicle could collect water that can be trans- formed into propellant as well as base metals and regolith that can be used to 3D print spare parts.
Also how the vehicle could perform routine main- tenance and unexpected repairs.
CONCEPT 2
ROBOTIC ARMS
CONCEPT 3
VISITING MAINTENANCE CREW/DRONE
In this concept the vehicle is equipped with robotic arms that perform mainte-
nance on the mining vehicle.
+ Can be nicely integrated
– Low redundancy
– Difficult to have robot arms that reach all over the ship?
In this concept the vehicle is not equipped with any extra drones for main-
tenance. Instead there will be a network of maintenance drones that visits different
asteroids for maintenance and perhaps resource collection.
+ Less mass needed to be launched in orbit at once
– Perhaps not economically viable
CONCEPT 1
PLASMA DRILL
A plasma drill that will be able heat up the rock very fast so it cracks when it is cooled down again. Gas can then be
used to flush the broken off rock into a collection unit.
+ Can dig deep with little equipment + No drill bit that needs replacing + Likely to work well in micro gravity – Currently difficult to maintain direction
3 EXTRACTION
(Concepts are simple representations of ideas and do not represent the final design and form)
Next I needed to develop concepts for how the mining vehicle would be able to extract the de- sired minerals and metals.
A metal or fluid that can expand and contract depending on temperature and in this way crack the rock for extraction.
+ Use access to extreme hot and cold
– Mechanical parts that might need replacing
– Will perhaps use a lot of volatiles for mining
In this approach the asteroid is excavat- ed by scraping off rock from the surface.
Sort of like if you would keep pealing an apple until you reach the center.
+ Homogeneous excavation
– Might have to go through a layer of regolith
– Mechanical parts that might need replacing
CONCEPT 2
EXPANDING MEDIUM
CONCEPT 3
SCRAPE FROM SURFACE
CONCEPT 1
RETURN VESSEL
A vessel purposely built for retrieving material to earth that
is launched with the mining vessel.
+ Smoothly retrieve material
– Extra mass during launch – All mined metals must be
sent in one go
CONCEPT 2
ISM CAPSULE
Using 3D printing and local base metals and regolith to build return capsules with heat
shielding in-situ.
+ Less mass for launch + Can use in-situ material
– Needed material must be available on-site
4 Return
I also needed a section of concepts for how mate- rial could be retrieved back to earth to close the cycle of the mining operation.
CONCEPT 3
RETRIEVAL TUG
A network of support vessels, or tugs, that travels to asteroids
to collect materials and send them to earth.
+ Less mass for launch – Economic feasibility?
CONCEPT 4
FOAM BALLS
Platinum group metals 3D printed into foam balls of 2 meters in diameter. They would
travel so slowly through the atmosphere that they would not need heat shielding.
+ Less mass for launch + Can be produced in-situ + Low velocity means no need
for heat shielding – No on board engine
CONCEPT 5
“SLING”
Constructing some sort of trebuchet, or canon that can
send material back to earth.
Perhaps also using the spin of the asteroid.
+ Less mass for launch + Can perhaps use spin of
asteroid to sling material + ISM possibilities
– Accuracy?
– Could slowly bring asteroid off course
04 EVALUATION
59
Concept evaluation
After having established the different concepts, I sent them out to people who could evaluate and suggest which ones could present the optimal solu- tion for an asteroid mining vehicle.
ADAM SCHILFFARTH
Technical Business Development Director Planetary Resources
Adam works for Planetary Resources, which is a company based in Seattle, USA. Their core busi- ness plan is to mine asteroids and/or the moon for water, minerals and metals.
REDUNDANCY AND 3D PRINTING
Adam asked that I consider how the spacecraft should be powered and suggested that nuclear power is very likely to be used in space in the year 2040.
He also liked the swarm idea from the layout con- cept number 4. Since even though NEOs are quite close it is still to far to assume that we could have other spacecraft visiting the mining site on a regular basis. This means that the ship must be highly self- sufficient. When having a multitude of small drones working on a task, the operation is less likely to be affected if some of them malfunctions.
He also mentioned that Planetary Resources has already been able to print simple structures with a powder grounded from a metal meteorite. So it is safe to assume that 3D printing capability will be possible at-asteroid in the year 2040. The simpler and “dumber” the structure, the better. He asked me to think of what types of simple structures that could be fabricated on site and which ones are far to com- plex to print locally.
CHRISTER FUGLESANG
ESA Astronaut and professor in Space Travel European Space Agency | KTH
Christer is a Swedish physicist and ESA astronaut who has visited the International Space Station and made a total of five space walks. He even has an asteroid named after him: 11256 Fuglesang.
LAYOUT, MAINTENANCE AND RETURN
Christer thought that all of my concepts for the layout were interesting but he believed the most in concept number 1 and that some of the thinking in concept number three could be combined.
When it comes to maintenance he suggested that I separate the terms Maintenance and Repair.
Maintenance being scheduled upkeep of the mining vehicle and Repair being unplanned operations to replace and/or repair things that have broken down.
He believed that a robot arm that can “walk” along the hull would be the best option. Similar to what is used at the International Space Station.
Concerning return he believed the most in a combination of concepts 1 and 2. He suggested that critical parts for a return capsule could be brought to the asteroid, which means anything that is hard to produce on site. But that more simple parts such as the hull and fuel can be produced on site.
GOSHA GALITSKY
Industrial Designer (My mentor)
Epiroc Industrial Design Competence Center
Gosha is an Industrial Designer at Epiroc and has many years of experience in designing mining solutions, products and vehicles for terrestrial mining operations.
EXTRACTION METHOD
Me and Gosha spoke more about the extraction methods, since that is the expertise of Epiroc. I learned early on about plasma drills as a possible solution that could be used for mining in space.
They require no drill-bit that would need to be replaced on a regular basis, which is a huge benefit on an asteroid where a mining vehicle has to be self-sufficient. There has been several tests done with plasma drilling and it shows a lot of promise for mining on earth as well. However it is difficult to maintain the direction which is a problem for terres- trial mining. In this case we also thought that sim- ply drilling holes straight down in to the asteroid is perhaps not the best way to extract minerals. In this way you would have an asteroid that is just full of holes. But by combining the 1st and 3rd extraction concepts, we could have a mining operation that strips the minerals more homogeneously. It would correspond to open pit mining here on earth and the machine would not be unlike a CNC milling machine that strips the minerals off the asteroid layer by layer.
Conclusions
After evaluating my concepts with these very skilled people I needed to make a few decisions.
LAYOUT
I decided to go with concept 1 for the major part of the mining vehicle. But I also decided to combine it with a bit of modular- ity from concept number 2 and 3D printing capability from concept 3.
ENERGY
Adam told me that nuclear powered space craft is very likely in the year 2040. I believe that but the ESA also launched a mission to an asteroid that did just fine with solar power. Solar panels in general also become more and more effective with each decade, so I decided that my mining vehicle would utilize solar power apposed to nuclear power.
EXTRACTION
As I discussed with Gosha, I decided to use a plasma cutter that heats up an area of the surface of the asteroid instantly, then cools it down quickly, which makes the rock crack. It will perform this action across the surface to extract material.
MAINTENANCE/REPAIR
Scheduled maintenance will be performed by small drones on a regular basis. If repair is needed that goes outside of the drones programming, information will be sent to earth. Repairs can then be performed in a VR environment and the instructions sent back to be performed by the drones.
RETURN
To make the most use of the vehicle, the rear part of the craft will decouple to func- tion as a space tug that can transport in- situ manufactured containers back to low earth orbit.
Chosen concepts
CONCEPT 1
MAINTENANCE DRONES
HUMAN CENTERED STORY LINE
AN EXTENSION FOR THE CREW ON EARTH TO BE ABLE TO PER- FORM REPAIRS
MULTIPLE DRONES INCREASE REDUNDANCY
OFFER MORE THAN JUST TECH- NOLOGICAL ESTIMATIONS
CONCEPT 1+2+3
MINING VESSEL WITH HELPERS
A SINGLE VESSEL WITH A SPECIFIC PUR- POSE
CONCEPT 1+3 SURFACE MINING PLASMA DRILL
CONCEPT 1+2+3 SPACE TUG
FOR MATERIAL RETRIEVAL CONCEPT 1
DRONE MINERS
WITH ACCESS TO PLENTY OF FUEL THE ENGINE OF THE SPACECRAFT CAN BE REFUELED AND UTILIZED AS A SPACE TUG TO RETURN MINED MATERIAL
HOMOGENOUS MINING SIMILAR TO OPEN PIT MINING
HELP TO COLLECT VOLATILES
Needed parts
1 2 3
4
9
When I had decided which concepts to move forward with I needed to map out the different parts of the craft that would have to be taken into account in the final design.
