Asteroid mining is the exploitation of raw materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Based on known terrestrial reserves, and growing consumption in both developed and developing countries, key elements needed for modern industry and food production could be exhausted on Earth within 50 to 60 years. In response, it has been suggested that platinum, cobalt and other valuable elements from asteroids may be mined and sent to Earth for profit, used to build solar-power satellites and space habitats, and water processed from ice to refuel orbiting propellant depots. Looking beyond the Milky Way, there are at least 2 trillion other galaxies in the observable universe. Space colonization can roughly be said to be possible when the necessary methods of space colonization become cheap enough to meet the cumulative funds that have been gathered for the purpose, in addition to estimated profits from commercial use of space. Intergalactic travel would either have to involve voyages lasting millions of years, or a possible faster than light propulsion method based on speculative physics, such as the Alcubierre drive. There are, however, no scientific reasons for stating that intergalactic travel is impossible in principle. Uploaded human minds or AI may be transmitted to other galaxies in the hope some intelligence there would receive and activate them.

The bestselling author of Daemon returns with a near-future technological thriller, in which a charismatic billionaire recruits a team of adventurers to launch the first deep space mining operation--a mission that could alter the trajectory of human civilization. When itinerant cave diver James Tighe receives an invitation to billionaire Nathan Joyce's private island, he thinks it must be a mistake. But Tighe's unique skill set makes him a prime candidate for Joyce's high-risk venture to mine a near-earth asteroid--with the goal of kick-starting an entire off-world economy. The potential rewards and personal risks are staggering, but the competition is fierce and the stakes couldn't be higher. Isolated and pushed beyond their breaking points, Tighe and his fellow twenty-first century adventurers--ex-soldiers, former astronauts, BASE jumpers, and mountain climbers--must rely on each other to survive not only the dangers of a multi-year expedition but the harsh realities of business in space. They're determined to transform humanity from an Earth-bound species to a space-faring one--or die trying.

A unique, wide-ranging examination of asteroid exploration and our future in space Human travel into space is an enormously expensive and unforgiving endeavor. So why go? In this accessible and authoritative book, astrophysicist Martin Elvis argues that the answer is asteroid exploration, for the strong motives of love, fear, and greed. Elvis’s personal motivation is one of scientific love—asteroid investigations may teach us about the composition of the solar system and the origins of life. A more compelling reason may be fear—of a dinosaur killer–sized asteroid hitting our planet. Finally, Elvis maintains, we should consider greed: asteroids likely hold vast riches, such as large platinum deposits, and mining them could provide both a new industry and a funding source for bolder space exploration. Elvis explains how each motive can be satisfied, and how they help one another. From the origins of life, to “space billiards,” and space sports, Elvis looks at how asteroids may be used in the not-so-distant future.

This book produces convincing evidence that exploiting the potential of space could help solve many environmental and social issues affecting our planet, such as pollution, overcrowding, resource depletion and conflicts, economic inequality, social unrest, economic instability and unemployment. It also touches on the legal problems that will be encountered with the implementation of the new technologies and new laws that will need to be enacted and new organizations that will need to be formed to deal with these changes. This proposition for a space economy is not science fiction, but well within the remit of current or under development technologies. Numerous technologies are described and put together to form a coherent and feasible road map that, if implemented, could lead humankind towards a brighter future.

Will the People of Earth Bow Down to Alien Overlords—or Will They Fight Back? First Contact Was Friendly When aliens trundled a gate to other worlds into the Solar System, the world reacted with awe, hope, and fear. The first aliens to come through, the Glatun, turned out to be peaceful traders, and the world breathed a sigh of relief. Who Controls the Orbitals, Controls the World When the Horvath came through, they announced their ownership of us by dropping rocks on three cities and gutting them. Since then, they've held Terra as their own personal fiefdom. With their control of the orbitals, there's no way to win and Earth's governments have accepted the status quo. Live Free or Die To free the world from the grip of the Horvath is going to take an unlikely hero. A hero unwilling to back down to alien or human governments, unwilling to live in slavery, and with enough hubris, if not stature, to think he can win. Fortunately, there's Tyler Vernon. And he has bigger plans than just getting rid of the Horvath. Troy Rising is a book in three parts—Live Free or Die being the first part—detailing the freeing of Earth from alien conquerors, the first steps into space using off-world technologies and the creation of Troy, a thousand-trillion-ton battle station designed to secure the Solar System.

A scientist and a soldier must join forces when combat drones zero in on targets on American soil in this gripping technological thriller from New York Times bestselling author Daniel Suarez. Linda McKinney studies the social behavior of insects—which leaves her entirely unprepared for the day her research is conscripted to help run an unmanned and automated drone army. Odin is the secretive Special Ops soldier with a unique insight into a faceless enemy who has begun to attack the American homeland with drones programmed to seek, identify, and execute targets without human intervention. Together, McKinney and Odin must slow this advance long enough for the world to recognize its destructive power. But as enigmatic forces press the advantage, and death rains down from above, it may already be too late to save mankind from destruction.

Sometime in the future the author predicts that either humans, and/or robotic vehicles will exploit mineral resources outside the planet Earth. This is an apocalyptic vision for anyone with an interest in the future of our species

Not since man set foot on the moon over four decades ago has there been such passion and excitement about space exploration. This enthusiasm and eagerness has been spurred on by the fact that for the first time since the very beginning of the space age, space travel is no longer limited to an elite group of highly trained and well-disciplined military officers and test pilots. Instead, we must understand that the possibility of commercial space travel is already on our horizon and that it comes with a number of significant practical and moral challenges. Our level of scientific development and ability to influence international affairs and policy confers upon us an obligation to study the ethical, legal and social considerations associated with space exploration and understanding the potential consequences from the beginning is critical. This volume provides the first comprehensive and unifying analysis concerning the rise of private space exploration, with a view toward developing policy that may influence real-world decision making. The plethora of questions demanding serious attention - privatisation and commercialisation, the impact on the environment, health futures, risk assessment, responsibility and governance - are directly addressed in this scholarly work.

The Culture — a human/machine symbiotic society — has thrown up many great Game Players, and one of the greatest is Gurgeh Jernau Morat Gurgeh. The Player of Games. Master of every board, computer and strategy. Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel and incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game. . . a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game, and with it the challenge of his life — and very possibly his death. The Culture Series Consider Phlebas The Player of Games Use of Weapons The State of the Art Excession Inversions Look to Windward Matter Surface Detail The Hydrogen Sonata