Fill in the Blanks
Do it.
Follow
the
money
and
you
will
in
space
.
That
?
s
the
message
from
a
first
-
of
-
its
-
kind
forum
on
mining
beyond
Earth
.
Convened
in
Sydney
by
the
Australian
Centre
for
Space
Engineering
Research
,
the
event
brought
together
mining
companies
,
robotics
experts
,
scientists
,
and
government
that
are
all
working
to
make
space
mining
a
reality
.
2
harvesting
unveiling
venture
launch
The
forum
comes
hot
on
the
heels
of
the
2012
of
two
private
asteroid
-
mining
firms
.
Planetary
Resources
of
Washington
says
it
will
its
first
prospecting
telescopes
in
two
years
,
while
Deep
Space
Industries
of
Virginia
hopes
to
be
metals
from
asteroids
by
2020
.
Another
commercial
that
sprung
up
in
2012
,
Golden
Spike
of
Colorado
,
will
be
offering
trips
to
the
moon
,
including
to
potential
lunar
miners
.
Within
a
few
decades
,
these
firms
may
be
meeting
demands
for
precious
metals
,
such
as
platinum
and
gold
,
and
the
rare
earth
elements
vital
for
personal
electronics
,
such
as
yttrium
and
lanthanum
.
But
like
the
gold
rush
pioneers
who
transformed
the
western
United
States
,
the
first
space
miners
won
?
t
just
themselves
.
They
also
hope
to
build
an
off
-
planet
economy
free
of
any
bonds
with
Earth
,
in
which
the
materials
extracted
and
processed
from
the
moon
and
asteroids
are
delivered
for
space
-
based
projects
.
4
rich
ice
interplanetary
commodity
poles
In
this
scenario
,
water
mined
from
other
worlds
could
become
the
most
desired
.
"
In
the
desert
,
what
?
s
worth
more
:
a
kilogram
of
gold
or
a
kilogram
of
water
?
"
asks
Kris
Zacny
of
HoneyBee
Robotics
in
New
York
.
"
Gold
is
useless
.
Water
will
let
you
live
.
"
Water
ice
from
the
moon
?
s
could
be
sent
to
astronauts
on
the
International
Space
Station
for
drinking
or
as
a
radiation
shield
.
Splitting
water
into
oxygen
and
hydrogen
makes
spacecraft
fuel
,
so
-
asteroids
could
become
refuelling
stations
.
Companies
are
the
iron
,
silicon
,
and
aluminium
in
lunar
soil
and
asteroids
,
which
could
be
used
in
3D
printers
to
make
spare
parts
or
.
Others
want
to
turn
space
dirt
into
concrete
for
landing
pads
,
shelters
,
and
roads
.
6
earthly
unveiling
launch
poles
harvesting
enrich
eyeing
venture
ice
agencies
rich
end
commodity
lunar
up
interplanetary
machinery
Follow
the
money
and
you
will
in
space
.
That
?
s
the
message
from
a
first
-
of
-
its
-
kind
forum
on
mining
beyond
Earth
.
Convened
in
Sydney
by
the
Australian
Centre
for
Space
Engineering
Research
,
the
event
brought
together
mining
companies
,
robotics
experts
,
scientists
,
and
government
that
are
all
working
to
make
space
mining
a
reality
.
The
forum
comes
hot
on
the
heels
of
the
2012
of
two
private
asteroid
-
mining
firms
.
Planetary
Resources
of
Washington
says
it
will
its
first
prospecting
telescopes
in
two
years
,
while
Deep
Space
Industries
of
Virginia
hopes
to
be
metals
from
asteroids
by
2020
.
Another
commercial
that
sprung
up
in
2012
,
Golden
Spike
of
Colorado
,
will
be
offering
trips
to
the
moon
,
including
to
potential
lunar
miners
.
Within
a
few
decades
,
these
firms
may
be
meeting
demands
for
precious
metals
,
such
as
platinum
and
gold
,
and
the
rare
earth
elements
vital
for
personal
electronics
,
such
as
yttrium
and
lanthanum
.
But
like
the
gold
rush
pioneers
who
transformed
the
western
United
States
,
the
first
space
miners
won
?
t
just
themselves
.
They
also
hope
to
build
an
off
-
planet
economy
free
of
any
bonds
with
Earth
,
in
which
the
materials
extracted
and
processed
from
the
moon
and
asteroids
are
delivered
for
space
-
based
projects
.
In
this
scenario
,
water
mined
from
other
worlds
could
become
the
most
desired
.
"
In
the
desert
,
what
?
s
worth
more
:
a
kilogram
of
gold
or
a
kilogram
of
water
?
"
asks
Kris
Zacny
of
HoneyBee
Robotics
in
New
York
.
"
Gold
is
useless
.
Water
will
let
you
live
.
"
Water
ice
from
the
moon
?
s
could
be
sent
to
astronauts
on
the
International
Space
Station
for
drinking
or
as
a
radiation
shield
.
Splitting
water
into
oxygen
and
hydrogen
makes
spacecraft
fuel
,
so
-
asteroids
could
become
refuelling
stations
.
Companies
are
the
iron
,
silicon
,
and
aluminium
in
lunar
soil
and
asteroids
,
which
could
be
used
in
3D
printers
to
make
spare
parts
or
.
Others
want
to
turn
space
dirt
into
concrete
for
landing
pads
,
shelters
,
and
roads
.
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