Ex Terra Podcast - Simon Drake @ Space Commodities - part 2

There is a wealth of resources available in space, from precious and rare metals to water, which can produce hydrogen that can be used for fuel. But how practical is mining in space? On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, host Tom Patton talks with Simon Drake, founder, and CEO of The Space Commodities Exchange, about the practicality and challenges of mining in space.

Asteroids present multiple logistical problems. They are far away, and the time required to mine asteroid resources raises questions about the practicality of making use of those resources in the near term. But the Moon offers resources that are more easily extracted and refined. Drake says that resources on the Moon can be used for a variety of purposes, from production of rocket fuel to construction materials that can lead to the construction of habitats for lunar explorers.

Mining in space, particularly on the Moon, offers the opportunity to acquire resources without having to lift them off Earth. The amount of energy needed to take resources needed for long-term habitation in space extracted on the Moon is far less than what would be required to launch them into Earth orbit, or all the way to the Moon. They can also be transported to a commodities exchange where they can be traded and sold.

For future missions to Mars, the commodities extracted by mining in space and transported to such an exchange gives spacecraft the ability to rendezvous with the exchange and take on fuel and other supplies already in orbit, again rather than having them lifted off Earth.

The US-based Space Commodities Exchange Inc (SCX) has already started designing the first products to facilitate the trading of commodities in space. The SCX expects to sell the first units of propellant in Q4 of 2021 usable by a variety of satellites to extend their useful lives.