Nice...a great thinking poem...had me perplexed for a bit. G.G Zidders

Oh? Perplexed how? I'm glad you like it. Thank you for the compliment. To be honest I kind of feel like the space mining/star trucking stuff is indulgent stuff nobody else but me will be into so I'm always a bit surprised but delighted when people get into it.

well i don't know how many here on f.a. will be, but i think those of us who remember s.f. of the 70s and 80s might.

the first asteroid miners will probably be robotic rovers, but the best place to control them from, would be in orbit around whatever rock they are working.

the summer of 72 i was helper on a geological survey drill rig, in the outbacks of the state of nevada.

xenogeophysics was something easy for me to fantacize about at the time, having spent the previous winter studying first year geology.

its not something i went any further with, but it was an interesting and rewarding summer.

That's awesome. I know there are corporations and private investors working on developing ways to mine asteroids. The question will be whether the riches found within them will be something they share with the world or something they keep for themselves. After all-they'll own the equipment and be the ones paying people to go out into space and build the infrastructure required. It will be a matter of how tied to earth they are and how enforceable rules/laws concerning their trade are. Hopefully it's not like the rail wars back in the old west or the industrial revolution all over again.