Leveraging AI and Blockchain for Space Mining
David V. Kilpin, Hamid Jahankhani · Space Law and Policy · 2024
Space mining is a pioneering concept that involves extracting valuable resources from celestial bodies, such as asteroids, moons, and planets. This innovative approach holds immense potential for addressing earth resource shortages and supporting future space exploration endeavours. As humanity looks beyond our planet for sustainable solutions, space mining has emerged as a key frontier, offering a unique opportunity to tap into our solar system’s vast wealth of resources. This chapter draws on prior research in the context of terrestrial mining to consider how the implementation of blockchain can introduce immutability to the management of data related to the ownership and productivity of mining. The chapter contends that the same principles of immutability can also be leveraged to explore new areas of space mining to enhance confidence in ownership through clear celestial demarcations and encourage investment through robust assessment of the productivity of extraction activities, thereby overcoming challenges and disputes that have historically shaped mining endeavours on earth.