As space exploration starts to concentrate on landing on the surface of other celestial bodies, in-situ resource utilization (“ISRU”) is becoming a prevalent topic. ISRU is focused on designing items that are required to support an exploration mission. These items are made using easily accessible materials that can be found at exploration sites.
NASA’s Institute for Advanced Concepts program (“NIAC”) recently began looking into various ISRU projects that will be included in its Phase I Fellows program. One of the projects that was chosen, which was led by University of Texas’ Dr. Amelia Grieg, developed a mining technique that would permit explorers to simultaneously dig up metal, water and other materials that may be deemed useful.
Many in-situ resource utilization schemes address how water is used, as it is utilized in most exploration efforts. However, many of these schemes usually discard other materials that are collected in an attempt to gather water. This proposed scheme would use a new type of mining to extract both water and any other materials that may be collected as part of the process of water mining.
This process of water mining would use a new technique known as ablative arc mining. The process would involve the creation of an electric arc across a pair of electrodes, which would break any material that comes into contact with it into ionized particles. Using a series of electric fields, these particles would then be fed into capture chambers where other similar ions have been contained.
Instead of using laser ablation, the process would use electricity, which offers a much higher particle output that allows the mining process to progress at a quicker pace. However, in order to create an arc on the almost nonexistent atmosphere in the moon, a considerable power source would be needed. While a system such as this would have to be somewhat bulky, for an all-in one water and metal mining system, this is not be a factor for disqualification.
Grieg and her team of researchers are focused on designing a system that would be able to harvest 10,000 liters of water annually as part of NASA’s NIAC program. A system like this would be compared to other mining systems.
Regardless of the location, extraterrestrial mining will, with luck, eventually become a trillion-dollar industry. Technologies such as the ablative mining arc concept are aiding in the progression of this industry, one project at a time.
Speaking of mineral exploration, GoldHaven Resources Corp. (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF) is ready to start exploring for gold and other minerals in the seven properties it acquired in Chile. The company has sufficient funding so everything is set for 2021 to be a big year for GOH shareholders.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to GoldHaven Resources Corp. (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/GHVNF
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