Protect the solar system from the Gold Rush by preserving 88% of our star system, say scientists

Our solar system needs to be protected from a "gold rush" that could hinder space mining efforts and that could leave us in a disaster for resources over the centuries, experts say.

Researchers from the US Smithsonian Institution and King's College London argue for the preservation of seven-eighths of the solar system as official "wilderness areas".

This regulation would protect planets, moons and other bodies from uncontrolled mining and other types of industrial exploitation.

But its main goal would be to ensure that the expansion of humanity into our star system is undertaken in a manageable way to avoid a future where all resources will be depleted.

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Astrophysicist Martin Elvis of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts has teamed up with London College's philosopher Tony's Milligan to investigate how quickly space exploration could deplete the viable resources of the solar system.

The duo discovered that humanity would use one-eighth of the realistically accessible solar system resources within 400 years, assuming an annual growth rate of 3.5% for the mining sector. Space.

This growth rate would be comparable to that found in the use of iron since the beginning of the industrial revolution until nowadays.

After four centuries, we would only have 60 years to stop the growth of the space economy before the usable resources of the solar system are completely exhausted.

Based on these results, the researchers propose that the industrial exploitation of solar system resources be limited to one-eighth, the rest thus constituting protected and protected areas.

This regulation would preserve other worlds in their natural state, without human pollution or industry.

However, the researchers noted that its main objective would be to prevent us from reaching the catastrophic point where all the resources of our neighborhood have been drained in an unsustainable way.

"If we do not think about it now, we will continue as before and in a few hundred years we will be facing an extreme crisis, much worse than the one we are currently experiencing on Earth," he said. Dr. Elvis at the Guardian.

"Once you have operated the solar system, you have no where else to go," he added.

The limit is necessary because of the difficulties encountered in estimating exponential growth, said the researchers.

Limiting the initial extraction efforts to one-eighth of the available resources would provide a buffer needed to then switch to a stable-state economic system while allowing the use of resources to double three more times.

Although the cap may seem superficially restrictive, Mr. Elvis noted that one-eighth of all the iron contained in the asteroid belt accounted for at least a million times the iron ore reserves that the planet had. we currently find on the Earth.

These resources should be sufficient to meet the needs of humanity for centuries.

The researchers wrote in their article that it would be difficult to decide which aspects of our star system should be protected from the space mining industry.

However, Valles Marineris, the world's largest solar system canyon, as well as Olympus Mons, the largest known shield volcano, is the largest known shield volcano, which is two-and-a-half times Mount Everest in March. size.

The granting of protection will require a very complicated debate.

"Do we want cities near the moon that illuminate the night? Would it be inspiring or horrifying? & # 39 ;, asked Dr. Elvis.

And the rings of Saturn? They are beautiful, almost pure water ice.

"Is it going to exploit them for them to be gone in 100 years?"

NASA announced last year that the total value of all resources enclosed in near-Earth asteroids represented the equivalent of 77 billion pounds ($ 100 billion) for every individual on Earth .

The most realistic targets for space miners would be asteroids, the Moon, Mars and other rocky planets, note Dr. Elvis and Dr. Milligan.

On the other hand, it would be extremely difficult to extract useful body materials like Jupiter, a gas giant that contains more mass than the rest of the combined solar system planets, or the Sun.

While some precious metals such as gold and platinum could be transported to Earth, most of the mined resources would probably be used in space to create habitats for astronauts and also to make fuel for rockets.

For example, the National Space Agency of China aims to build a lunar base near the ice-rich South Pole of the moon over the next decade. The ice will provide water for human consumption and as a component of the rocket fuel.

Similarly, the European Space Agency is planning to build a lunar base capable of exploiting rocks near the lunar surface by 2025.

National space administrations are not the only ones interested in the richness of space, as many emerging mining companies are also ready to exploit the solar system.

One of these companies in the UK is Asteroid Mining Corporation, which hopes to launch a prospecting satellite into Earth orbit in the coming years.

As with natural parks on Earth, it is still possible for humans to visit protected areas under certain conditions.

These could include rules such as landing a spaceship in certain locations or sterilizing all combinations, vehicles and other machines entering the park to avoid the risk of microbial shedding in the protected area. .

"If all goes well, we could send our first mining missions in space 10 years from now," said Dr. Elvis.

"Once this has started and someone has made a huge profit, there will be the equivalent of a gold rush," he added.

& # 39; We must take it seriously. & # 39;

The complete results of the study were published in the journal Acta Astronautica.