Mars could be used as a base for asteroid exploration and mining of resources: Study

It has not been long since space agencies from different countries are launching asteroid exploration missions. In recent past, NASA launched a mission in 2016 to an asteroid that will bring samples next year, whereas Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) got its hands on samples from anor asteroid in 2020. And since this new domain of exploration is expected to turn profitable soon, a new study by experts from  Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) suggests that Mars can act as a base for exploration and even asteroid mining. 

In ir study, experts noted that trend of asteroid exploration will pick up pace with near-Earth objects (NEO) which cross Earth's orbit. However, in long run, this practice would expand to asteroid belt, which is between Mars and Jupiter.

How would Mars help in asteroid mining?

study published in journal Planetary and Space Science suggests that Mars can be used to make a spacecraft land on an asteroid in asteroid belt. According to estimates, asteroids in main belt contain about 10,000 times as many resources as NEOs. But major roblocks in ir exploration are cost and weight of fuel needed, arranging shipment of samples back to Earth, and most importantly, making a spacecraft rendezvous-- slow down once it reaches its destination.

Previously, CfA astronomers Martin Elvis, and Jonathan McDowell have shown that  Martian moon, Phobos, which orbits about six thousand kilometres from Mars's surface, can help a spacecraft rendezvous with an asteroid. In this study, experts explained what is called "delta-V", which denotes  kinematic requirement of accomplishing a spacecraft manoeuvre for rendezvous. For a spacecraft in low-Earth orbit, speed required for asteroid rendezvous is four kilometres per second whereas for main-belt asteroids it is seven kilometres per second since y are more energetic.

While financing mission remains a major factor in developing a mining project on asteroids, Harvard scientists claim that launching and returning to an operations centre based in a Phobos-like orbit is really vantageous and convenient. y even ded that large-scale resource mining could also increase human access to Martian surface.