Phase I Final Report to NASA Innovative and Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Robotic Asteroid Prospector (RAP) NASA Contract NNX12AR04G -- 9 July 2013, REV 12 Dec 2013 © PI: Marc M. Cohen, Arch.D; Marc M. Cohen Architect P. C. Astrotecture™ http://www.astrotecture.com CoI for Mission and Spacecraft Design: Warren W. James, V Infinity Research LLC. CoI for Mining and Robotics: Kris Zacny, PhD, with Jack Craft and Philip Chu, Honeybee Robotics. Consultant for Mining Economics: Brad Blair, New Space Analytics LLC Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 5 Executive Summary ............................................................................................................ 6 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Mineral Economics Strategy ............................................................................................................................ 10 1.2 Asteroids, Meteorites, and Metals ................................................................................................................. 10 1.2.1 Families of Metals ................................................................................................................................................ 10 1.2.2 Water from Carbonaceous Chondrites ....................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Near Earth Objects ............................................................................................................................................... 11 1.3 Past Missions .......................................................................................................................................................... 13 1.3.1 The NEAR ................................................................................................................................................................. 13 1.3.1 Hayabusa .................................................................................................................................................................. 13 1.3.1 OSIRIS-REx ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 1.3.2 NEOs Summary ....................................................................................................................................................... 16 1.4 The Space Infrastructure Development Framework .................................................................................. 17 1.5 Asteroid Mining Technology ............................................................................................................................ 17 1.6 Mission Design ........................................................................................................................................................ 17 1.7 Spacecraft design .................................................................................................................................................. 18 1.8 Parametric Cost Model ....................................................................................................................................... 18 2 Space Infrastructure Development Framework ............................................................... 19 2.1 15-Year Time Phasing. ........................................................................................................................................ 19 2.2 15-Year Investment in Total Deep Space Infrastructure ..................................................................... 20 2.3 Rate of Investment in Deep Space Infrastructure .................................................................................. 20 2.4 People Living in Space Continuously ............................................................................................................ 20 2.5 Where Space Commodities and Products are consumed .................................................................... 21 2.6 Target Return on Investment (ROI) .............................................................................................................. 21 2.7 Commodities Produced in Space .................................................................................................................... 21 2.7.1 Commodity 1 Water and PGMs ...................................................................................................................... 22 2.7.2 Commodity 2 Scientific Samples and Radiation Shielding ................................................................ 22 2.7.3 Commodity 3 Structural Materials .............................................................................................................. 22 2.7.4 Commodity 4 Life Support ................................................................................................................................ 23 2.7.5 Commodity 5 Regolith for Soil ........................................................................................................................ 23 2.8 Location and Technology Decisions............................................................................................................... 23 2.8.1 Customer- or Market-Related Location Decision .................................................................................. 23 2.8.2 Customer- or Market-Related Technology Decision ............................................................................ 27 2.8.3 Supply-Related Location Decision ................................................................................................................ 27 2.8.4 Supply-Related Technology Decision .......................................................................................................... 27 2.8.5 Feasibility-Related Location Decision ........................................................................................................ 27 2.8.6 Feasibility-Related Technology Decision................................................................................................... 27 2.9 Mineral Economics ............................................................................................................................................... 28 2.9.1 Terrestrial PGM Utilization ............................................................................................................................. 28 2.9.2 Market Segmentation ......................................................................................................................................... 28 2.9.3 PGM Market Elasticity........................................................................................................................................ 29 2.9.4 Processing Improvements in Extractive Metallurgy ............................................................................ 29 2.9.5 Abundance and Scarcity .................................................................................................................................... 30 3 Mining and Processing Technology ............................................................................. 31 Robotic Asteroid Prospector Final Report 3.1 Mining Functions .................................................................................................................................................. 32 3.2 Asteroid Mining Approaches ........................................................................................................................... 33 3.2.1 ARProbes .................................................................................................................................................................. 35 3.2.2 Spiders ....................................................................................................................................................................... 37 3.3 Water Extraction ................................................................................................................................................... 38 3.4 Metal Mining ........................................................................................................................................................... 42 4 Mission Design ........................................................................................................... 44 4.1 Rationale for Operations from the Earth Moon Lagrange Point ....................................................... 46 4.1.3 Lagrange Point Benefits Summary .............................................................................................................. 47 4.2 Earth Departure Options ................................................................................................................................... 48 4.2.1 Impact of Staging from an EML Point on Departure C3 .................................................................... 48 4.2.2 DeltaV Reduction -- System Sizing Case ..................................................................................................... 51 4.3 Options for Returning from an Asteroid and Reducing Delta V ........................................................ 52 4.3.1 Venus and Mars Synodic Periods ..................................................................................................................