Economy on the Rocks!

The Mundrabilla Meteorite is one of the largest space rocks ever found on Earth. Weighing in at a massive 22 tonnes Fragments of this meteorite have been studied for over a century, and recently, a team of scientists tested the specimen with magnetic field modulated microwave spectroscopy, by putting tiny samples into a cavity filled with microwaves and an oscillating magnetic field, then cooling it. Simply put, they were scanning the rock to see if conducts electricity…And to their surprise. It did. One of the study’s lead authors, told Gizmodo

“The big takeaway is there is superconductivity in the sky, naturally occurring.”

If indium-tin-lead alloys are common, asteroids have significant value. Companies are alreadli I y cataloging near Earth objects for potential profit. The top 10 asteroids judged “most cost effective” — that is, the easiest to reach and to mine, subtracting rocket fuel and other operating costs, is around $1.5 trillion So far, only two companies on the planet to have gone public with asteroid-mining business plans – Planetary Resources and Deep Space Industries. Unfortunately, both have been acquired by companies with a more, Earthly vision. Japan however, has been operating around Ryugu for the last year and a half, with an orbiting craft, tiny rovers and recently bombed the surface to study its contents. Coincidentally, this particular asteroid has a projected value of 30 Billion, according to Asterank, and the #1 most cost effective target. Officially, the mission is looking for data on how the solar system formed. Unofficially, it will help us understand if there are useful…and valuable metals clumped together at the heart of an asteroid, as some theorize. If so, it’s game on for asteroid prospectors.