Might we mine lunar or asteroidal material for import back to Earth?
Some have tried to make a case for this. One proposal is the retrieval of Helium-3 from the lunar surface for use as fusion fuel. But one must bear in mind that the commercial fusion reactors which would burn this fuel do not yet exist even as paper designs. One outside possibility is the importation of platinum group metals from asteroids. In this case, one must factor in the effect dumping large amounts of the metals into the marketplace would have on their prices. One difficulty with the concept of retrieval of space resources to Earth is that the competition for those materials are Earth resources which will always have much cheaper transportation costs. When proposing use of space resources in space, the competition is Earth resources which have been rocketed up the steep gravity well of the Earth at considerable expense. O’Neill always felt that to bring space materials back to Earth would be to kill their one outstanding advantage: their location outside the steepest parts of Ea
