Unit 4 New Challenges
Space: The Final Frontier
The need to explore new frontiers like the Arctic and the American West may have been sparked by ____ but a major reason was to discover new resources.
Without new resources and technology, the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century would not have led to the rise of new industries and the growth of ____
In the late ____ century, the Information Technology Revolution connected the world and transformed economies.
Now, it seems that space is the ____ frontier for entrepreneurs to explore.
Finding new resources and exploring the ____ environment are new opportunities for those who dare to take up the challenge.
Asteroid Mining
The solar system is composed ____ many rocks floating in space.
The large ones are called ____ and the smaller ones are called asteroids.
____ has shown that asteroids contain valuable resources like gold and rare earth elements.
For example, one asteroid, 16 ____ is reported to consist mainly of gold and other precious metals, whose value is equal to billions of dollars per person on Earth.
From a space explorers’ perspective, however, the most valuable resources ____ asteroids are neither valuable precious metals nor rare mineral deposits.
That valuable resource ____ actually be water, and it seems to have been overlooked because it doesn’t seem as exciting as gold.
Water ____ expensive to transport into space due to its weight and volume.
Having a space station with sufficient water ____ in orbit around Earth would make space explorations much easier.
No one knows for sure what asteroid mining will look like, but ____ seems that robotic mining is most likely.
Robots will ____ sent to dig for target materials and send them back towards Earth.
____ will be programmed to explore the surface and identify materials, and be equipped for tasks such as drilling, collecting, and transporting.
They may work ____ or be controlled remotely from Earth.
Unfortunately, these types ____ robots have yet to be developed since the technology is still young.
As technology continues to develop, better methods for obtaining materials ____ undoubtedly emerge.
Off-Earth Manufacturing
Being on the International Space Station (ISS) is ____ unique experience.
Astronauts live and work in microgravity, ____ around instead of walking.
Researchers get to see Earth from a completely new perspective, and they ____ to work on important scientific research in conditions that are different from Earth’s.
Many manufacturers are interested in manufacturing in space because the quality ____ a lot of products manufactured on Earth is influenced by temperature, pressure, radiation, and even the effects of gravity.
Creating good conditions for certain types of manufacturing ____ Earth requires the use of a lot of energy and resources, but those conditions occur naturally in space.
Drugs, beauty and food products, and advanced materials are all potential candidates to ____ tested and produced in space.
____ example, without the effects of gravity, products that require a uniform quality like cosmetics would be easier to mix.
Other materials like
Other ____ like 3D printed skin or muscle benefit from low pressure and gravity too.
Although the sun’s radiation can be unhealthy for our skin, getting away ____ the protective effects of the atmosphere could also benefit the testing of products.
For example, fabrics and skin creams could ____ tested for their ability to protect against solar radiation.
Also, semiconductors and glass ____ cables could be produced with higher purity and fewer faults.
Space technology has advanced greatly, and it seems that the cost of running a space program ____ improving it has decreased substantially since ambitious entrepreneurs have joined the adventure.
The conditions in space ____ up the possibility of manufacturing newer and better products.
Challenges remain, but it’s not unreasonable to imagine sending a message from a device equipped with semiconductors that were produced in ____
The space project will ultimately reach a point where adventurous minds and their technological innovations will be able to travel safely ____ stars beyond the solar system.
The resources required to drive economic activity ____ have existed far beyond the reach of humanity are becoming much more reachable.
The question is no longer about how; it’s ____ when.