Can asteroids be turned into self-driving spaceships?
A private company is aiming to break into the developing asteroid mining business with a concept that could turn the minor planetary objects into rudimentary聽spacefaring聽vessels.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based Made In Space, Inc., responsible for the first 3D printer to聽function in zero gravity conditions, will use its additive manufacturing expertise and backing from NASA to continue work on its Project Reconstituting Asteroids into Mechanical Automata (RAMA). That initiative 鈥� capable of moving themselves to useful locations in space,鈥� according to a blog post by Made In Space co-founder and chief technology officer Jason Dunn.
NASA itself is already invested in the further study of the near-Earth objects (NEOs), and even aims to move a portion of an asteroid into Earth's orbit in the near future. And with the once-theoretical asteroid mining business now on its way to becoming an international industry, utilizing the cosmic bodies for the transport and harvesting of resources聽is now a practical interest.
The first involves delivering a manufacturing-capable 鈥淪eed Craft鈥� to the prevalent planetoids. After the Seed Craft鈥檚 arrival, materials taken from the NEO鈥檚 surface will be 3D-printed to build basic mechanical instruments needed for space flight. Made In Space hopes that RAMA can address 鈥渢he need for space resources鈥� that will arise as asteroid harvesting and human exploration into deeper regions of space become a reality.
鈥淓ventually, the asteroid itself becomes an autonomous, mechanical, free-flying spacecraft,鈥� that 鈥渨ould be programmed to slowly alter its path over time,鈥� according to Mr. Dunn鈥檚 blog. The end result: a new asteroid machine developed with in situ resource utilization that, after completion, can send the Seed Craft to another asteroid, while propelling itself to nearby human outposts for mining.
Current space shuttles and probes must be sent through the cosmos with precise guidance and extensive electronic propulsion systems. The RAMA architecture, however, would allow NEOs to function without constant human oversight, thanks to a momentum system inspired by 2nd century BC machinery.
鈥淎t the end of the day, the thing that we want the asteroid to be is technology that has ,鈥� Dunn told Space.com. 鈥淭he question is, 鈥楥an we convert an asteroid into that technology at some point in the future?鈥� We think the answer is yes.鈥�
The plan would be more efficient than sending individual missions, manned or unmanned, to NEOs targeted for harvesting. Made In Space hopes its background in space-based additive manufacturing processes could help turn asteroid mining's 鈥渃razy visions of the future鈥娾�� into reality.
Made In Space doesn鈥檛 expect RAMA-type vessels to hurtle through space for 20 to 30 years, giving time for advancement in human space travel and colonization and growth in the asteroid mining business. In the meantime, Dunn sees viability in the concept鈥檚 use on Earth as well.
鈥淵ou could build infrastructure in remote locations somewhat autonomously, and convert resources into useful devices and mechanical machines,鈥� he said, according to Space.com. 鈥淭his actually could solve some pretty big problems on Earth, from housing to construction of things that make people's lives better.鈥�
Backing for further development of the RAMA concept comes from , from which the space agency provides thousands of dollars to fund months鈥� worth of research for 鈥渧isionary ideas that could transform future NASA missions.鈥�
