Space trade is hypothetical interplanetary or interstellar trade. It has been discussed by futurists and other pundits since the 1960s.
A motivator for colonization of Mars
editSeveral people have considered trade within the Solar System as one of the ways in which the colonization of Mars is both important and can be made self-sufficient. Robert Zubrin, of Lockheed Martin Astronautics, in a paper on the economic viability of colonizing Mars,[1] puts forward interplanetary trade as one way in which a hypothetical Martian colony could become rich, pointing out that the energy relationships between the orbits of Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt place Mars in a far better position for involvement in any future asteroid mining trade than Earth.
Jim Plaxco, in a paper putting forward the case for colonizing Mars,[2] mentions that Phobos and Deimos can be developed, in the long term, from being short-term testbeds for the techniques of asteroid mining and staging posts for colonization of Mars itself, into key trading posts in interplanetary trade, again because of their favourable position within the Solar System.
Issues
editIt is theorized that if different locations within the Solar System become inhabited by humans, they would need to transport valuable resources between different planets, moons and asteroids.[1] The asteroid belt is theorized to become a source of valuable ores that may develop into industrial asteroid mining infrastructure, whereas Earth may export hi-tech production.[1] The factor of energy-efficiency of interplanetary transportation may become very important to estimate economic value of a trade route.
John Hickman identified the principal obstacle to developing space trade as the distances involved, which will reduce all or nearly all trade to the exchange of intangible goods. That threatens the possibility of conducting business in a genuinely common currency and of enforcing debt agreements incurred by governments.[3]
A 2009 article explored tax implications.[4]
Commercial spaceports
edit
Building high-capacity commercial spaceports may require connection with other modes of transportation, such as railroad or sea, which would make spaceports another dimension of national economy. One analysis of commercial, technical, and logistical concerns for an operating spaceport, formulated by the Spaceport Technology Development Office of NASA, is Vision Spaceport.[5]
See also
edit- Helium-3 (although it cannot currently be exploited as an energy source, that may change in the future if fusion power is developed)
- Space-based solar power
- Space manufacturing
- International Institute of Space Commerce
References
edit- ^ a b c Zubrin, Robert (1995-09-28). "The Economic Viability of Mars Colonization" (PDF). 4 Frontiers Corp. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2006-12-03.
- ^ Jim Plaxco (March 1992). "Making Mars Relevant". Spacewatch.
- ^ Hickman, John (January 2008). "Problems of Interplanetary and Interstellar Trade". Astropolitics. 6 (1): 95–104. doi:10.1080/14777620801910818. S2CID 154447344.
- ^ Adam, Chodorow (8 December 2009). "Tax in the Final Frontier: A Theory of Interstellar Tax". Social Science Research Network. SSRN 1520413.
- ^ McCleskey, Carey M. (April 16, 2001). "Vision Spaceport - Renewing America's Space Launch Infrastructure & Operations". NASA John F. Kennedy Space Center: Spaceport Technology Development Office. Archived from the original on July 24, 2003.
.doc download link
Further reading
edit- Bryce Walden; Cheryl Lynn York; Thomas L. Billings & Robert D. McGown (2001-11-30). ""As long as we're here...": Secondary Profit Generators for Moon and Mars Bases" (PDF). Space 2002 and Robotics 2002: 495. Bibcode:2002spro.conf..495W.
- Edward L. Hudgins (2002-12-01). Space: The Free-market Frontier. Cato Institute. ISBN 1-930865-18-X.
- Joseph A. Angelo (2003-06-30). Space Technology (Sourcebooks in Modern Technology). Greenwood Press. pp. 285. ISBN 1-57356-335-8.