Review of potential sources for obtaining energy carriers and mineral raw materials in outer space

Abstract

The problem of resource provision on Earth includes three main aspects – depletion due to the lengthy development of large volumes of non-renewable resources, shortage of certain types of resources due to their rarity and insignificant concentrations, high cost of extraction and beneficiation due to a number of factors, including the conditions of occurrence and imperfection of technologies. Resources in general are all types of resources – energy, mineral, water, and, separately, oxygen. Space objects are one of the possible directions of searching for alternative non-traditional sources of energy and mineral raw materials. Space exploration will help to solve a number of global problems for humanity, including demographic, food, energy, raw materials, and the environmental. The purpose of the paper is to justify the need of searching for potential alternative ways of obtaining energy carriers and mineral raw materials of a non-traditional type and to determine their possible sources in outer space. On the basis of the analytical review of potential alternative ways and sources of obtaining energy carriers and mineral raw materials of a non-traditional, it is justified that the research of space objects (planets, satellites, comets, asteroids) aimed at searching non-traditional type is relevant. The relevance of this direction is confirmed not only by the development of appropriate technologies for the exploration of space objects but also by the development and improvement of the legal framework governing space exploration. The main and most important directions of research are life support during the development of space objects, energy supply, mining and processing of minerals, chemical and biological production. Issues of life support involve providing, first of all, oxygen and water. For energy supply, it is advisable to consider helium-3 (He-3), water, oxygen, hydrogen, and ethane as potential sources. The most promising mineral resources in space are rare and rare-earth elements, platinum and metals of the platinum group, nickel, and cobalt. It is proven that the most promising space objects for the extraction of mineral raw materials are asteroids due to their relative availability, structural features, and higher concentration of minerals.