(AA- service in Spanish)
Niyazi Belem, Head of Mining Engineering Department at Konya Polytechnic University (KTUN) in Turkey, In his interview, he said that according to current studies and predictions, metals from space can be brought to Earth in tons in quantities 20-50 years from now, versus the amounts of grams that have been brought so far.
“I think that Space mining will be fully practiced in 100 years. Although it might seem incredible to us now, the technologies we use today were also great for people who lived 100 years ago,” says Belem.
The Turkish world remembers that Some researchers expect that the world’s mines will run out within 50-300 years And space mining can”Paving the way for people to live more prosperous lives in the future“.
“There is an asteroid called ’16 Psyche’ with a diameter of about 200 km between Mars and Jupiter. The value of platinum, gold, silver and other precious metals in it exceeds the world budget 136,000 times. If we can bring [estos elementos] to the world, “Maybe he won’t be poor,” Belem says.
He also asserts that space mining appears feasible and points out that space agencies such as the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASAand the European Space Agencywho – whichand the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.JAXA) Send a spacecraft to asteroids to sample their surfaces.
“If the planned landing on the moon in 2023 is successful, we can start space mining studies. At the moment, 3-5 countries seem to be interested in these spatial studies, but other countries will enter this sector as soon as they see the advantages,” Belem adds.
The scientist believes that in the near future space studies will become a Useful discipline That will cover most of the sciences.
“If we can develop science and technology, then we will have strong economy. As a country, we must invest in this type of technology and our youth must work in this field,” says Belém.
Although it indicates thatIt will not be easy to produce the necessary technology and get to work ”, He asserts, “We must be prepared. If we see it as profitable, we will be ready. If we see that it is not, we will have developed the technology and will not suffer losses,” continued the scientist.
“If we allocate a budget for these investigations and studies, and We are doing important work, we will not only benefit from space technology but also other related technologies. It can be said that the national space program [de Turquía] “It’s the first step toward this,” Belém says.