Handbook of Space Resources

Description

Earth has limited material and energy resources, while these resources are virtually unlimited in space. It is only a matter of time, before planetary resources are mined and used in-situ to sustain human and robotic exploration or returned to Earth for commercial gain. This book covers a number of aspects related to space resources. In particular, subjects related to mission concepts, exploration approaches, mining and extraction technologies, commercial potential, and regulatory aspects of space resources are covered in detail. This book is therefore a good resource for readers who seek background and deeper understanding of space resources related activities. Preface Acknowledgments About This Book Contents About the Editors Part I Technologies for Planetary Exploration 1 Displaced Non-Keplerian Orbits for Sun and Inner Planet Observation 1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Mission Applications 1.1.2 Propellantless System Options 1.2 Displaced Non-Keplerian Orbits in a Heliocentric Scenario 1.2.1 Circular DNKOs 1.2.2 Elliptic DNKOs 1.2.3 Case Study 1.2.4 Linear Stability Analysis 1.3 Displaced Non-Keplerian Orbits in a Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem 1.3.1 Mathematical Model 1.3.2 Case Study 1.3.3 Linear Stability Analysis 1.4 Conclusions References 2 Dynamics and Control of Electrostatic Flight 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Environmental Challenges at Small Bodies 2.3 Kinematics 2.3.1 Main Body-Centered Reference Frames 2.3.2 Spacecraft-Centered Reference Frames 2.4 Linearized Equations of Motion for Translational Motion 2.5 Attitude Dynamics 2.6 Gravitational Forces and Moments 2.6.1 Point Mass Gravity Model 2.6.2 Spherical Harmonics Model 2.6.3 Forces and Torques on an Extended Body 2.6.4 Irregular Asteroid Model 2.6.5 Irregular Gravitational Field 2.6.6 Gravitational Torque 2.7 Solar Radiation Forces and Moments 2.7.1 Cannonball Model 2.7.2 Backward Ray-Casting Model 2.8 Plasma and Charging Interactions Around Small Asteroids 2.8.1 Plasma and Charging Environments Around Small Asteroids 2.8.2 Analytical Modeling of the Plasma and the Electric Field 2.8.3 PIC Simulations of the Plasma and Electric Field 2.9 Electrostatic Forces and Moments 2.9.1 Finite Element Electrostatic Force Modeling 2.10 Electrostatic Orbiting and its Stability 2.10.1 Orbit Design Methodology 2.10.2 Electrostatic Periodic Orbit 2.10.3 Evolution of Periodic Orbit Solutions 2.10.4 Effects of Shape Irregularity 2.11 Attitude Stability 2.11.1 Linearized Euler Equation 2.11.2 Stability Conditions 2.11.3 Pitch Motion and Phase Diagram 2.12 Coupled Orbital Attitude Stability 2.12.1 Coupled Orbit–Attitude Equations of Motion 2.12.2 Stable and Unstable Attitude Motion 2.12.3 Libration and Tumbling in the Pitch Motion 2.13 Hovering and Its Stability 2.13.1 Zero Velocity Curves 2.13.2 Subsolar Hovering 2.13.3 Electrostatic Periodic Orbit 2.13.4 Neutral Periodic Orbit 2.13.5 Connection with the Electrostatic Periodic Orbit 2.14 Control 2.14.1 Control Approach 2.14.2 Assumptions of the Hovering Dipole Model 2.14.3 Ideal Hovering Control for a Single-Dipole Spacecraft 2.14.4 Position and Attitude Control for Single-Dipole Spacecraft 2.14.5 Ideal Hovering Control for a Double-Dipole Spacecraft 2.14.6 Position and Attitude Control for a Double-Dipole Spacecraft 2.14.7 Tether Length Sensitivity 2.15 Including the Effect of Charging Electrodes 2.15.1 Spacecraft Charging 2.15.2 Power Required for Electrostatic Hovering 2.15.3 Power Required for Electrostatic Orbiting 2.15.4 Current Collection for Spherical Electrodes 2.15.5 Current Collection for Wire Electrodes 2.15.6 Example of a 12U CubeSat with Four Hoop Electrodes 2.16 Conclusions References 3 Tracking and Thrust Vectoring of E-Sail-Based Spacecraft for Solar Activity Monitoring 3.1 Introduction 3.2 E-sail Concept and Modeling 3.2.1 Thrust and Torque Vectors of a Three-Dimensional E-sail 3.2.2 Thrust and Torque Vectors of an Axially Symmetric E-sail 3.2.3 Tether Equilibrium Shape 3.2.4 Approximate mathcalP and mathcalM for a Logarithmic Shape Tether 3.3 E-sail Dynamics 3.3.1 Orbital Dynamics 3.3.2 Attitude Dynamics 3.4 Attitude Maintenance and Control 3.4.1 Attitude Maintenance for Tracking Purposes 3.4.2 Attitude Control for Thrust Vectoring 3.5 Mission Applications 3.5.1 Spinning E-sail in Heliostationary Condition for Solar Activity Monitoring 3.5.2 Thrust Vectoring for the Generation of EFOs 3.6 Conclusions References 4 Space Elevator for Space-Resource Mining 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Earth-Based Space Elevators 4.2.1 Overview 4.2.2 Obayashi Corporation’s Space Elevator Concept 4.3 Lunar Space Elevator 4.4 Martian Space Elevator 4.5 Space Elevators on Asteroids 4.6 Conclusions References 5 Orbital Hub: Providing an LEO Infrastructure for Multi-disciplinary Science and Commercial Use Cases 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Low Earth Orbit Resources 5.2.1 Micro-gravity Environment 5.2.2 Space Radiation and Space Observation 5.2.3 Earth Observation 5.2.4 Human Crew 5.2.5 Exclusiveness of Location: Tourism 5.3 Current Plans for Stations 5.3.1 Chinese Space Station 5.3.2 Axiom International Commercial Space Station 5.3.3 Bigelow Next-Generation Commercial Space Station 5.3.4 Gateway Foundation 5.3.5 Summary 5.4 User Needs for LEO Outpost 5.4.1 Scientific Point of View 5.4.2 Non-scientific Point of View 5.5 Orbital Hub Main Platform 5.5.1 Main Platform Design 5.5.2 Mass and Power Budgets 5.5.3 Subsystems 5.5.4 Design Options 5.6 Free Flyer 5.6.1 Free Flyer Design 5.6.2 Free Flyer Mass and Power Budgets 5.6.3 Subsystems 5.7 Discussion 5.7.1 Launch and Operation 5.7.2 The Orbital Hub and Other Platforms 5.7.3 User Applications 5.7.4 Key Technology Availability 5.8 Conclusion References 6 Instrumentation for Planetary Exploration 6.1 Introduction 6.2 General Instrument Considerations 6.3 Instrumentation Categories 6.3.1 Synthetic Aperture Radar 6.3.2 In-Situ Standoff Instrumentation: Passive and Active 6.3.3 Mass Spectrometry 6.3.4 Seismic Instrumentation 6.3.5 Nano- and Microtechnology for Habitability and Life-Detection Investigations 6.4 Summary and Conclusions References 7 Space Debris Recycling by Electromagnetic Melting 7.1 Introduction 7.1.1 Motivations 7.1.2 Problem of Space Debris 7.1.3 Current State of Space Debris Remediation 7.1.4 Space Debris and the Industrialization of Cislunar Space 7.2 Space Debris Metal Processing 7.2.1 The Electro-Magnetic Levitator (EML) on the ISS 7.2.2 In-Space Metal Manufacturing Enabled by Space Debris Recycling 7.3 Policy and Law 7.3.1 Liability 7.3.2 Ownership 7.3.3 Policy 7.4 Conclusions 7.5 Summary and Conclusions References Part II Mercury and Venus 8 Planetary Exploration of Mercury With BepiColombo and Prospects of Studying Venus During Its Cruise Phase 8.1 Introduction 8.2 The BepiColombo Mission to Mercury 8.2.1 Science Goals 8.2.2 The Spacecraft Modules 8.2.3 Solar Electric Propulsion to Mercury 8.2.4 Operational Constraints During the Cruise Phase 8.3 Cruise Science with BepiColombo During Venus Flybys and Other Opportunities 8.3.1 Science Objectives During Cruise 8.3.2 Science During Venus Flybys 8.4 Summary and Conclusions References 9 Analysis of Smart Dust-Based Frozen Orbits Around Mercury 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Mathematical Preliminaries 9.3 Frozen Orbit Conditions 9.3.1 Case e = 0: Circular Orbits 9.3.2 Case ω= 0 or ω= π 9.3.3 Case ω= pmπ/2 9.4 Frozen Orbit Period 9.5 Numerical Validation 9.6 Discussion of the Results 9.7 Conclusions References Part III The Moon, a Steppingstone to Planetary ISRU 10 Simulants in In-Situ Resource Utilization Technology Development 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Simulant Development 10.3 Lunar Simulant 10.4 Martian Simulant 10.5 Asteroid Simulant 10.6 Other Simulants 10.7 Environmental Requirements 10.8 Conclusion References 11 Regolith Processing 11.1 Introduction 11.2 The Nature of Regolith 11.2.1 Regolith Petrology and Mineralogy 11.2.2 Regolith Chemistry 11.2.3 Regolith Physical Properties 11.2.4 Other Regolith Properties 11.3 Excavation and Transport 11.4 Regolith Separation 11.4.1 Separating Particle Sizes 11.4.2 Separating Mineral and Chemical Components 11.5 Binding Regolith Particles 11.5.1 Sintering 11.5.2 Geopolymers 11.5.3 Regolith Concrete 11.5.4 3D Printing with Regolith 11.6 Extracting Resources from Regolith 11.6.1 Extracting Water 11.6.2 Extracting Oxygen and Metals 11.7 Biological Processing of Regolith 11.8 Summary References 12 Sintering: A Method for Construction of Off-Earth Infrastructure from Off-Earth Materials 12.1 Off-World Construction 12.2 Sintering Fundamentals 12.2.1 Physics of Sintering 12.2.2 Terrestrial Sintering Techniques 12.3 Application of Sintering to Off-World Materials 12.3.1 Regolith 12.3.2 Extraterrestrial Application of Sintering Techniques 12.4 Applications of Sintering to Off-World Construction 12.4.1 Two-Dimensional Construction 12.4.2 Three-Dimensional Construction 12.5 Summary References 13 The Effects of Mineral Variations on the Basalt Sintering Process and Implications for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) 13.1 Introduction to Sintering 13.2 Background on Sintering of Hawaiian Basalt 13.3 Basalt Paver Manufacturing 13.3.1 Basalt Paver Prototype Structural Analysis 13.3.2 Basalt Paver Structural Analysis 13.3.3 Higher-Density Sintered Material 13.3.4 Comparing Basalts from Different Locations and Sources 13.4 Background on Lunar and Martian Regolith 13.4.1 Properties of Lunar Regolith 13.4.2 Properties of the Martian Regolith 13.5 Variation in Chemical Composition/Mineral Abundances of Hawaiian Basalt 13.5.1 Energy-Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) 13.5.2 Thin-Section and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) Analysis of Basaltic Parent Rock Samples 13.5.3 Thin-Section Analysis of Sintered Materials 13.6 Structural Properties of Sintered Basalt Versus Chemical Composition/Mineral Abundances 13.7 Conclusions References 14 Rocket Mining for Lunar and Mars ISRU 14.1 Introduction 14.1.1 Concept of Operations 14.1.2 Innovation and Impact 14.1.3 Current Technology Gaps and Solutions 14.2 Hardware 14.2.1 Hardware Feasibility 14.2.2 Hardware Reliability and Durability 14.2.3 Hardware Mass and Efficiency 14.3 Rocket Mining Excavation System 14.3.1 Particle Breaking and Disaggregation 14.3.2 Large Particle Rejection 14.3.3 Excavation of Large Quantities of Icy Regolith 14.3.4 Delivery of Large Quantities of Water 14.3.5 Containment Dome 14.4 Honeybee Robotics PlanetVac Pneumatic Transport System 14.4.1 PlanetVac Icy Regolith Interface 14.5 Ice Beneficiation System 14.6 Lunar Outpost Rover 14.6.1 Lunar Mission Analysis 14.6.2 rocketM System Mass Performance Analysis 14.6.3 rocketM System Water Excavation Performance Analysis 14.6.4 Grade, Mass, Continuity, and Recovery of Ice “Ore” in Regolith 14.6.5 Preliminary Excavation Plan of rocketM 14.7 Preliminary Economics of rocketM References 15 Penetration Investigations in Lunar Regolith and Simulants 15.1 Introduction 15.2 Penetrometer History, Measurements, and Applications 15.2.1 Introduction 15.2.2 History 15.2.3 Measurements and Applications 15.3 Physical Mechanisms 15.3.1 Introduction 15.3.2 Penetration 15.3.3 Relaxation 15.4 Lunar In-Situ Penetrometer Investigations 15.5 Lunar Simulants 15.5.1 History 15.5.2 JSC-1 and JSC-1A 15.6 Penetrometer Tests in Lunar Simulants 15.6.1 Introduction 15.6.2 Apollo Era 15.6.3 Manual 15.7 Controlled Mechanism 15.7.1 Introduction 15.7.2 Indentation 15.7.3 Penetration and Relaxation 15.7.4 Synthesis 15.8 Permissions References Part IV Mars 16 Ice Resource Mapping on Mars 16.1 Ice as a Critical Resource for Human Missions 16.1.1 The Resource Value of Ice on Mars 16.1.2 Ice Stability on Mars 16.2 The Mars Subsurface Water Ice Mapping (SWIM) Project 16.2.1 Project Overview 16.2.2 Spacecraft Datasets and Processing Techniques 16.2.3 Composite Ice Consistency from Data Integration 16.3 SWIM Results 16.3.1 Non-Layered Ice Consistency 16.3.2 Ice Consistency for Depths 5 m 16.3.5 SWIM Products 16.4 Discussion 16.4.1 Comparison of SWIM Results with Ice-Exposing Impacts 16.4.2 Constraints on Ice Content 16.4.3 Future Considerations 16.5 Acronyms and Mathematical Symbols References 17 Design and Modeling of an Electrochemical Device Producing Methane/Oxygen and Polyethylene from In-Situ Resources on Mars 17.1 Background 17.1.1 Context 17.1.2 System Boundary Assumptions 17.1.3 Sabatier System 17.1.4 Opus 12 Device 17.2 CO2-to-Propellant Device Design 17.2.1 Overview 17.2.2 Heat Rejection 17.2.3 Water‒Gas Shift System 17.2.4 H2 + CO2 Membrane Separation Subsystem 17.2.5 Challenges of CH4/C2H4 Separation 17.2.6 CH4/C2H4 + O2 Isp Calculations 17.2.7 Moisture Removal from Product Gas Stream 17.2.8 Mass and Energy Budgets 17.3 CO2-to-Plastics Reactor Design 17.3.1 Overview 17.3.2 Reactor Design Details 17.3.3 Mass and Energy Budgets 17.3.4 Sensitivity Analysis 17.4 Conclusions and Future Directions References 18 Mobile Mars Habitation 18.1 The Concept of Mobile Living 18.2 Mars and Mobility 18.3 Mobile Habitation System Designs for Mars Missions 18.3.1 On Wheels, Featuring HOFFMAN, SEV, EMC, RAMA, MARS CRUISER 1 18.3.2 Wheels on Limbs Featuring EMC-ATHLETE, MOBITAT2, MSTS 18.3.3 Eccentric Concepts, Featuring SEED and HOPPER EMC 18.4 Evaluation References 19 Local Resource Creation on Mars 19.1 Introduction 19.2 The Exploration Phase 19.2.1 The Chemistry of Propellant Manufacture on Mars 19.3 The Base-Building Phase 19.3.1 Local Resource Creation for Life Support 19.3.2 Building Greenhouses 19.3.3 Plastics Production 19.3.4 Glass Production 19.3.5 Ice Architecture 19.3.6 Bricks and Concrete 19.3.7 Metals Production 19.3.8 Aluminum Production 19.3.9 Graphite Production on Mars 19.4 The Settlement Phase 19.4.1 Energy for Mars Settlement 19.4.2 Enabling Martian Exports 19.5 Conclusion References 20 Planetary Exploration of Mars 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Remote Sensing of Mars 20.2.1 Internal Structure and Atmosphere 20.2.2 Topography 20.2.3 Volcanism 20.2.4 Tectonism 20.2.5 Paleohydrology 20.2.6 Present-Day Cryosphere and Aqueous Activity 20.2.7 Mineraology/Geochemistry 20.3 Identifying Geological Features for Mining on Mars 20.4 Can Mars Be Mined like Earth? 20.4.1 In-Situ Resource Utilization of Water 20.4.2 In-Situ Resource Utilization of Construction Materials 20.4.3 Extraction of Mineral Commodities 20.5 Conclusion References 21 Robotic Deployment and Installation of Payloads on Planetary Surface 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Robotic System 21.2.1 Instrument Deployment Arm (IDA) 21.2.2 IDA End Effector Grapple 21.2.3 IDA End-Effector Scoop 21.2.4 IDS Cameras 21.2.5 IDA Motor Controller 21.3 Robotics Flight Software 21.3.1 IDA Motion Commands and Motor Control 21.3.2 Grapple Control 21.3.3 Kinematics and Deflection 21.3.4 Fault Protection 21.4 Deployment Workspace Analysis 21.5 Workspace Imaging, Terrain Mosaic, and Site Selection 21.5.1 Deployment Image Products 21.6 Payload Localization 21.7 Robotics Operation Tools 21.7.1 Robot Sequencing and Visualization Program 21.7.2 Simulation of Commands Using Flight Software in the Loop 21.7.3 Collision Volumes 21.7.4 Instrument Simulation 21.7.5 Shadow Modeling 21.7.6 SEIS Tether Catenary Modeling 21.8 Surface Operations Results 21.8.1 SEIS Deployment 21.8.2 WTS Deployment 21.8.3 HP3 Deployment 21.9 Summary and Conclusions References Part V Asteroids and Comets 22 Asteroid Habitats—Living Inside a Hollow Celestial Body 22.1 Introduction 22.2 A Short History of Space Colony Design 22.3 Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) 22.3.1 Apollos, Atens and Amors 22.3.2 Potential Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs) 22.3.3 Methods of Deflection 22.4 Utilization of Asteroids 22.4.1 An Advanced Propulsion System 22.4.2 Orbit Modification of Asteroids 22.4.3 Mining and Processing 22.5 Building a Habitat Inside an Asteroid 22.5.1 Cosmic Rays and Solar Flares 22.5.2 Artificial Gravity 22.5.3 A Prototype Habitat 22.5.4 Living Conditions and Housing 22.5.5 Climate and Agriculture 22.6 Conclusions and Future Scope References 23 Resources from Asteroids and Comets 23.1 Introduction 23.2 Accretion and Asteroid/comet Source Regions 23.3 Early Asteroid Collisional Evolution 23.4 The Asteroid Belt Today 23.5 Resource Assessment for Near-Earth Asteroids 23.6 Summary and Guidance for Resource Development References 24 Asteroids: Small Bodies, Big Potential 24.1 Asteroids 24.1.1 Building Blocks of Planets 24.1.2 Orbital Properties and Dynamical Evolution 24.1.3 Taxonomies 24.1.4 Meteorites as Analogs 24.1.5 Physical Characteristics and Surface Environment 24.2 Asteroid Resource Potential 24.2.1 Overview 24.2.2 That’s so Metal 24.2.3 That’s Not so Metal 24.2.4 Valuable Volatiles 24.2.5 In-Situ Resourcefulness 24.3 Prospecting and Extraction 24.3.1 Overview 24.3.2 Sampling and Ground Truth 24.3.3 Characterization of Resources 24.3.4 Excavation in Microgravity 24.3.5 Separation of Volatiles and Contamination 24.4 Resource Utilization and Bootstrapping 24.4.1 Overview 24.4.2 The Space Surrounding ISRU 24.4.3 Asteroids as a Foundation: Stepping Stones and Expansion 24.5 Discussion and Conclusions References 25 Exploration of Asteroids and Comets with Innovative Propulsion Systems 25.1 Introduction 25.2 Minimum Delta-V to Rendezvous 25.2.1 Approximate Values with Shoemaker and Helin’s Approach 25.2.2 Optimal Orbit-To-Orbit Two-Impulses Transfer 25.3 Propellantless Propulsion Systems 25.3.1 Solar Sail Thrust Model 25.3.2 Solar Sail Optimal Transfers 25.3.3 Electric Solar Wind Sail Thrust Model 25.3.4 Electric Solar Wind Sail Optimal Transfers 25.4 Conclusions References Part VI Ocean Worlds 26 Ocean Worlds: Interior Processes and Physical Environments 26.1 Introduction to Ocean Worlds 26.1.1 Exploration History 26.1.2 Scientific Motivation 26.2 Structures of Ocean Worlds 26.2.1 Surface Geology 26.2.2 Ice Shells 26.2.3 Ice‒Ocean Interfaces 26.2.4 Interior Oceans 26.2.5 Sea-Floors 26.3 Constraining Interior Environments 26.3.1 Geologic Inference and Analytical Approaches 26.3.2 Numerical Methods 26.4 Example Application to Europa 26.5 Summary References 27 Robotic Mobility and Sampling Systems for Ocean-World Bodies 27.1 Introduction 27.2 Design Considerations 27.2.1 Surface Environment 27.3 Vehicle Design 27.3.1 Vehicle Design Optimization 27.3.2 Vehicle Simulation Analysis 27.3.3 Vehicle Hardware Implementation 27.4 Sampling System Design 27.4.1 Component Technologies 27.4.2 Deployable Boom Sampling Concept 27.4.3 Projectile Launcher Concept 27.4.4 Ice Gripper Sampling System Concept 27.5 Summary and Conclusions References 28 Communication and Obstacles Detection Using Piezoelectric Transducers in a Penetrator Melting Deep Ice on Ocean Worlds 28.1 Introduction 28.2 Cryobot Architecture and System Integration 28.3 Ice Sonar for Obstacle Detection 28.4 Acoustic Communication 28.4.1 Acoustic Transmission in Ice 28.4.2 Communication Capacity of Acoustic Channel 28.4.3 Communication Capacity Under Limited Power Supply 28.4.4 Communication Summary 28.5 Acoustic Transceiver 28.5.1 Piezoelectric Transducer 28.5.2 Acoustic Transceiver Design 28.6 Conclusions References 29 Ice Melting Probes 29.1 Introduction 29.2 Applications for Ice Melting Probes 29.2.1 Mars 29.2.2 Icy Moons 29.2.3 Earth 29.2.4 Other Solar System Targets for Ice Melting Probes 29.3 Ice Melting Probe Theory 29.3.1 Efficiency Models 29.3.2 Critical Refreezing Length 29.3.3 Velocity Models 29.3.4 Trajectory Models 29.4 Challenges and Key Technologies 29.4.1 Unknown Environments and Mission-Critical Hazards 29.4.2 Power 29.4.3 Communication 29.4.4 Navigation and Autonomy 29.4.5 Miniaturization 29.4.6 Pressure Resistance 29.4.7 Radiation Hardness 29.4.8 Cleanliness and Sterilization 29.4.9 Instrumentation 29.5 Existing Melting Probe Designs and Tests 29.5.1 First Ice Melting Probe Designs 29.5.2 Notable Ice Melting Probe Designs for Specific Applications 29.6 Summary and Conclusions 29.7 List of Acronyms References Part VII Economics and Policies 30 Lunar Ore Reserves Standards 101 (LORS-101) 30.1 Terrestrial Standard Codes for the Resource Extractive Industries 30.2 Lunar Ore Reserve Standards (LORS-101) 30.2.1 LORS-101 Structure 30.2.2 LORS Classification Systems 30.2.3 LORS Definitions 30.2.4 LORS Guidelines References 31 The Economics of Space Resources: Future Markets and Value Chains 31.1 Future Markets and Value Chains 31.1.1 Introduction to the Benefits of Space Resources Utilization 31.1.2 Scoping of the Potential Value Chains 31.1.3 Cost Savings Assessment for a Defined Value Chain 31.1.4 Opportunities Linked to the Space Resources Value Chains 31.1.5 Socio-economic Impact 31.2 Commonalities Between the Terrestrial and Space Resources Industries: What Can Each Learn from the Other? 31.2.1 Commonalities Between the Terrestrial and Space Mining Value Chains 31.2.2 Engaging Space and Mining Industries 31.2.3 Markets and Dynamics 31.2.4 Investment and Financial Planning 31.2.5 Role of Government and Regulators 31.2.6 Prospecting—Proving Value 31.2.7 Extraction—Creating Value 31.2.8 Enablers—Optimizing Value 31.2.9 Examples of Companies Generating Near-Term Value with Long-Term Goals in Luxembourg 31.3 The Role of Governments as Key Enablers for the Space Resources Industry 31.3.1 Governments and Agencies as Early Risk Takers and Anchor Customers 31.3.2 Luxembourg’s SpaceResources.lu Initiative: An Example of a Government-Supported Strategy Promoting Commercial Space Resources Utilization 31.4 Summary/Conclusions References 32 Lifetime Embodied Energy: A Theory of Value for the New Space Economy 32.1 Introduction and Motivation 32.1.1 The Initial Mass in Low Earth Orbit (IMLEO) Cost Proxy 32.1.2 An Energy-Based Metric to Replace IMLEO 32.2 Overview and Limitations of Current Value Systems 32.2.1 Equivalent System Mass (ESM) 32.2.2 Life Cycle Cost (LCC) 32.2.3 Life Cycle Mass (LCM) 32.2.4 Network Flow Models (Mass-Based) 32.2.5 Utility Theory Approaches 32.3 Lifetime Embodied Energy (LEE) Modeling Foundations and Approaches 32.3.1 Energy Theories of Value 32.3.2 Embodied Energy Modeling 32.4 Constructing a Simple LEE Hybrid Model for a Space Settlement Use Case 32.4.1 Model Structure and Overview 32.4.2 Model Assumptions and Inputs 32.4.3 Model Elements 32.4.4 Model Structure and Equations 32.4.5 Modeled Mission Configurations 32.4.6 Model Results 32.4.7 Model Limitations 32.5 Lifetime Embodied Energy Applications 32.5.1 Design of Planetary Industrial Ecosystems and Supply Chains 32.5.2 Design of Sustainable Space Settlements 32.5.3 Valuation of Space Infrastructure and Space Economic Output 32.6 Summary and Conclusions References 33 Policy, Legal Processes and Precedents for Space Mining 33.1 Policy Introduction 33.2 Legal Framework 33.2.1 International Law 33.2.2 Domestic Law 33.2.3 The Hague Space Resources Governance Working Group Building Blocks 33.3 Key Issues and Potential Solutions 33.3.1 Access and Property Rights 33.3.2 Due Regard and International Benefit Sharing 33.3.3 Environmental Protection, and Conservation and Preservation of Historic Sites 33.3.4 Liability for Damage 33.3.5 Dispute Resolution 33.4 Conclusion References 34 Legal Considerations for Space Resources 34.1 Executive Summary 34.2 Principles of Space Resources Law 34.2.1 National Responsibility, Jurisdiction, and Sovereignty 34.2.2 Rights and Responsibilities of Space-Resource Operations 34.3 National Legislation, Regulation, and Policy 34.3.1 Australia 34.3.2 Belgium 34.3.3 Brazil 34.3.4 Canada 34.3.5 China 34.3.6 France 34.3.7 Germany 34.3.8 Greece 34.3.9 India 34.3.10 Italy 34.3.11 Japan 34.3.12 Luxembourg 34.3.13 Netherlands 34.3.14 Russia 34.3.15 Ukraine 34.3.16 United Arab Emirates 34.3.17 United Kingdom 34.3.18 United States 34.4 Conclusion References Index