Tuesday, 24 November 2015

New gamma-ray spectroscope would reveal what lies within for asteroid miners

The new gamma ray spectroscope could be fitted to asteroid surveying spacecraft

Asteroid mining is a potential trillion-dollar industry, but before any prospectors start fitting their mules of spacesuits, surveying is going to be more important than extraction. To help find out if its worth going to a particular asteroid, scientists from Vanderbilt and Fisk Universities, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, and the Planetary Science Institute are developing a new gamma-ray spectroscope that's capable of scanning asteroids, moons, and other airless bodies for gold, platinum, rare earths, and other valuable minerals.

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Section: Space

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from Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine http://ift.tt/1LyJvPp

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