Chinese SOE steps towards autonomous rare earth mining in space
The US-China satellite constellation competition might be the space race of today...
- ... but what's the space race of tomorrow?
On January 29, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation – the main state-owned contractor for China’s space program – announced that during 15th Five-Year Plan period, it will launch an experimental project related to placing autonomous mining systems in space.
In an article on the project published in state media outlet People's Daily, Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) scholar Wang Yunmin explains why such projects are strategically important:
- "The moon, asteroids, and Mars, contain vast amounts of platinum group metals, rare earth elements, and other scarce strategic resources, [such as helium-3]."
As the need for such materials increases beyond what traditional mines can provide, governments are turning to deep sea and deep earth exploration to make up the gap.
- But these environments are challenging to navigate due to extreme temperatures, pressure, and difficulties using communication systems.
- In many cases, it is actually easier to build mining systems in space than deep underground or under water.
That's not to say that mining in space is easy.
- Chinese researchers and SOEs are still experimenting with solving the challenges posed by cosmic radiation and high-vacuum, low-gravity environments.
- Multiple research teams at several universities and labs are working on related technologies.
Our thoughts: If you wanted to know what the natsec panic of 2030 is going to be, here's one answer.