Astrophysicist Martin Elvis believes that the launch of Ilona Mask by the most powerful rocket in the world was a key event for the prospects of mining in space. The power of the rocket allows you to cover research, and then the development of resources, 15 times more asteroids than was available for these purposes before the creation of Falcon Heavy, writes Haytek with reference to Gizmodo.

Two weeks ago, SpaceX successfully launched the most powerful to date rocket Falcon Heavy, assembled on the basis of three Falcon 9. Since the launch, admire the success of the Mask many, and the idea of ??a flight to Mars was a little closer. But astrophysicist Martin Elvis insists that there are far more profitable prospects behind this launch. In his opinion, the rocket of this capacity significantly expands the space for the development of mineral deposits in space.

Elvis says that instead of hundreds of asteroids with ore, theoretically available today, a person gets the opportunity to develop thousands of such celestial bodies. In his time, the astrophysicist found that not all asteroids are available for exploration, because they are not enough to find them, we still need to successfully descend on them. It turned out that only 3% of the known asteroids satisfy the interests of the earth industry and will be beneficial for developing. Now Elvis says that Falcon Heavy changes the game, making available already 45% of asteroids.

Extraction of resources on asteroids is the cherished dream of science fiction writers, which, with today's technologies, is slowly but nevertheless nearing realization.

It is believed that even relatively small asteroids, for example a diameter of 1.5 km, contain minerals worth billions of dollars. Among them, gold, cobalt, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel. And the largest known metal asteroid Psyche contains 100,000 times more iron-nickel ore than there is in the earth's crust. Asteroids are not only a source of metals, but also water. Therefore, their development promises huge profits for those who successfully take it for it.