The focus in my previous
blog posts was either on asteroid mining itself or on the company Planetary
Resources. I think that it is important to mention that Planetary Resources
is not the only company that is interested in this matter. The company SpaceX
was founded in 2002 in order to “revolutionize space technology, with the
ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets”, according to their
website. Its founder Elon Musk, also the founder of PayPal, is convinced
that space exploration is important for preserving human life. He is worried that
something like a natural disaster, a super virus or other threats could be
responsible for our extinction. Therefore, he thinks that it is necessary to
have a backup plan in case something bad happens to our Earth. SpaceX’s rocket “Falcon
9” and the spacecraft “Dragon” were sent 12 times to the International Space
Station in order replace its space shuttle.
This sounds all very
promising but Elon is not only interested in space exploration. He also thinks
about how to revolutionize the transportation system. For this reason he
suggested the construction of something he called “Hyperloop”. This would be a tube
over or under the ground which could connect Los Angeles with San Francisco. The
Hyperloop should be, among others, safe, fast, cheap, self-powering and
would look something like that:
Looks very futuristic, doesn't it?
Of course, this project has not that much to do with asteroid mining but I think that it has more in common than you probably would think. Both projects are yet not realizable and both need visionary people who believe in their ideas in order to make them happen in the future.
SpaceX's website: http://www.spacex.com/
More information about the Hyperloop:
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