Notes

asteroid mining (aluminum)
history:
ancient times aluminum oxide clays used to tan hide, first aid, fabric dying and fireproofing (during its 'discovery period').
napolean III served state-dinners on aluminum plates, reserving petty gold or silver plates for rank-and-file diners. considered rarer than gold in 19th century.
first extracted 1825 (hans-christian). cost effective application beginning 1889.
100% recyclable.
early 1900's taken advantage of by corporations due to its cost-effective lightweight, malleable, alloy-able properties.
aluminum association formed in 1935 by Franklin D. Roosevelt, to ensure fair competition.
one of the most broadly applicated compounds.


where:
Near earth objects- NEO's
asteroids (12,745, 1m-32km in diameter, near earth. ~981 of which over 1km')
iron ast.: 91% iron (thus the name), 8.5% nickel and .6% cobalt.
stony ast.: 36% oxygen, 26% iron, 18% silicon, 14% magnesium as well as smaller amounts of aluminum, nickel and calcium.
moon: 42% oxygen to 21% silicon to 13% iron, 8%calcium, 7% aluminum 6% magnesium and 3% of other minerals
could be used for stopping and ISRU on the way to farther objects.

description:
currently 3 main options for asteroid mining:
1. bring raw asteroid materials back to earth,
2. process on-site to bring back only processed materials, as well as the possibilities of creating fuel for the return trip,
3. Transport the asteroid to a safe orbit around the Moon, Earth or to the ISS. This can hypothetically allow for most materials to be used and not wasted. Along these lines, NASA has proposed a potential future space mission known as the Asteroid Redirect Mission, although the primary focus of this mission is on retrieval.