For Cosmonautics Day, my favorite childhood holiday, I wrote a short post for you about the state of ideas on resource extraction in space.

In 1997, Professor of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona, John S. Lewis, published the book "Mining the Sky," which became a true manifesto for all proponents of these ideas. Based on scientific and economic calculations, he argued that humanity does not necessarily have to fight over the remaining mineral resources on Earth in the future, since unimaginable riches are stored right above our heads. Lewis also provided figures, for example, estimating the metals of just one relatively small asteroid, Amun, at $15 trillion, and proposed using extraterrestrial raw materials and water to build orbital power stations and refuel spacecraft. Despite its fantastical nature, the text clearly shaped the mindset of an entire generation of engineers and entrepreneurs, convincing them that space mining is not a fantasy of romantics, but a pragmatic way to solve the energy and raw material problems of our world.