europium-doped strontium iodide (SrI2) tagged posts

New Detector Perfect for Asteroid Mining

satellite flying close to asteroid

Concept of an asteroid redirect mission (NASA)

The grizzled asteroid miner was a stock character in science fiction. Now, a couple of recent events – one legal and the other technological – have brought asteroid mining a step closer to reality. The legal step was taken when the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed a bill titled H.R. 2262–SPACE Act of 2015. The bill has a number of measures designed to facilitate commercial space development, including a provision that gives individuals or companies ownership of any material that they mine in outer space, a trillion-dollar market.

The technological development is a new generation of gamma-ray spectroscope that appears perfectly suited for detecting veins of gold, platinum, rare earths and other valuable material hidd...

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