Another aspect of asteroid research that is starting to be talked about more and more is that of asteroid mining. President Bush has directed NASA to work toward the goal of establishing permanent bases on the Moon and, ultimately, Mars. The construction of such bases will require large amounts of material that is both expensive and difficult to launch from the Earth, most importantly, water. Every person needs approximately three gallons of fresh water per day for all their needs (drinking, cooking, hygiene, etc.). Water weighs eight pounds per gallon, and with a launch cost of around 15-20 thousand dollars per pound of material sent into space, the daily water requirements of each man or woman in a lunar colony would cost between 360 and 480 thousand dollars. Many C-class asteroids are thought to contain water tied up in clay; if this water could be extracted, it could be sent to Lunar or Martian bases. Simultaneously mining for other raw materials could help offset the cost of extracting the water, and ultimately make using asteroidal water more cost effective.
