SAT OG 2016 Reading - Test 1 reading 5

Passage 1

Follow the money and you will end up in space.

That’s the message from a first-of-its-kind forum on

mining beyond Earth.
Convened in Sydney by the Australian Centre Line for
₅ Space Engineering Research, the event brought

together mining companies, robotics experts, lunar

scientists, and government agencies that are all

working to make space mining a reality.
The forum comes hot on the heels of the
₁₀ 2012 unveiling of two private asteroid-mining firms.

Planetary Resources of Washington says it will

launch its first prospecting telescopes in two years,

while Deep Space Industries of Virginia hopes to be

harvesting metals from asteroids by 2020. Another
₁₅ commercial venture that sprung up in 2012,

Golden Spike of Colorado, will be offering trips to

the moon, including to potential lunar miners.
Within a few decades, these firms may be

meeting earthly demands for precious metals, such as
₂₀ platinum and gold, and the rare earth elements vital

for personal electronics, such as yttrium and

lanthanum. But like the gold rush pioneers who

transformed the western United States, the first space

miners won’t just enrich themselves. They also hope
₂₅ to build an off-planet economy free of any bonds

with Earth, in which the materials extracted and

processed from the moon and asteroids are delivered

for space-based projects.
In this scenario, water mined from other
₃₀ worlds could become the most desired commodity.

“In the desert, what’s worth more: a kilogram of gold

or a kilogram of water?” asks Kris Zacny of

HoneyBee Robotics in New York. “Gold is useless.

Water will let you live.”
₃₅ Water ice from the moon’s poles could be sent to

astronauts on the International Space Station for

drinking or as a radiation shield. Splitting water into

oxygen and hydrogen makes spacecraft fuel, so

ice-rich asteroids could become interplanetary
₄₀ refuelling stations.
Companies are eyeing the iron, silicon, and

aluminium in lunar soil and asteroids, which could

be used in 3D printers to make spare parts or

machinery. Others want to turn space dirt into
₄₅ concrete for landing pads, shelters, and roads.

Passage 2

The motivation for deep-space travel is shifting

from discovery to economics. The past year has seen

a flurry of proposals aimed at bringing celestial riches

down to Earth. No doubt this will make a few
₅₀ billionaires even wealthier, but we all stand to gain:

the mineral bounty and spin-off technologies could

enrich us all.
But before the miners start firing up their rockets,

we should pause for thought. At first glance, space
₅₅ mining seems to sidestep most environmental

concerns: there is (probably!) no life on asteroids,

and thus no habitats to trash. But its consequences

—both here on Earth and in space—merit careful

consideration.
₆₀ Part of this is about principles. Some will argue

that space’s “magnificent desolation” is not ours to

despoil, just as they argue that our own planet’s poles

should remain pristine. Others will suggest that

glutting ourselves on space’s riches is not an
₆₅ acceptable alternative to developing more sustainable

ways of earthly life.
History suggests that those will be hard lines to

hold, and it may be difficult to persuade the public

that such barren environments are worth preserving.
₇₀ After all, they exist in vast abundance, and even

fewer people will experience them than have walked

through Antarctica’s icy landscapes.
There’s also the emerging off-world economy to

consider. The resources that are valuable in orbit and
₇₅ beyond may be very different to those we prize on

Earth. Questions of their stewardship have barely

been broached—and the relevant legal and regulatory

framework is fragmentary, to put it mildly.
Space miners, like their earthly counterparts, are
₈₀ often reluctant to engage with such questions.

One speaker at last week’s space-mining forum in

Sydney, Australia, concluded with a plea that

regulation should be avoided. But miners have much

to gain from a broad agreement on the for-profit
₈₅ exploitation of space. Without consensus, claims will

be disputed, investments risky, and the gains made

insecure. It is in all of our long-term interests to seek

one out.