Summary
Mining asteroids, moons or even other planets has remained firmly within the realm of science fiction. But as certain elements become increasingly scarce on Earth, private companies and even nation states are looking to make extra-terrestrial mining a reality. Presenter Marnie Chesterton heads to an Earth-based mine in Scotland to see just how tricky space mining could be, and what possibilities it holds. On the way she discovers what laws govern this new far frontier, and hears from a space prospector who already has designs on key sites for exploration. Could our solar system's asteroids really become self-fuelling gas stations for spaceships?
Do you have a question we can turn into a programme? Email us at crowdscience@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producer: Jen Whyntie
(Image: Double the Rubble Artist Concept. Credit: NASA)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of |
| 0:07.0 | Happiness Podcast. |
| 0:08.0 | For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want |
| 0:14.4 | to share that science with you. |
| 0:16.1 | And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley. |
| 0:19.4 | I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that |
| 0:25.4 | calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds. We are in a dark, in a dark tunnel. It's Scott Gold's gold mine and we're making our way through what looks like a stream bed and I'm just |
| 0:50.6 | discovering that my Wellington's which which I patched, I have not done an entirely efficient job of patching. |
| 1:00.0 | I'm so proud of this. |
| 1:02.0 | I'm so proud of this. No, wet feet. |
| 1:06.0 | Hello, I'm Marnie Chesterton and this is crowd science on the BBC World Service, |
| 1:11.0 | the show that takes your questions to researchers all over the world who are hunting |
| 1:15.0 | for answers on life, Earth and the universe. |
| 1:18.4 | And this week's question takes us here, a gold mine 200 meters under a mountain in Scotland. Why we here? Well it's |
| 1:26.9 | because of a question from listener David Huang. Are there any world-changing |
| 1:31.7 | substances to discover in space or is Earth It? |
| 1:35.6 | Is there any material of substantial quantity that we might find out in space? |
| 1:41.8 | That isn't the voice of David Huang. That's my producer Jen. |
| 1:45.2 | David's question essentially on prospecting in space really peaked our curiosity |
| 1:50.5 | so definitely we're going to do this topic but despite some serious sluithing and many phone calls by our production team |
| 1:57.2 | Apologies to all the other David Wangs we contacted we couldn't get hold of him |
| 2:01.9 | So David if you're out there, thanks for asking an excellent question and I hope you get to hear this. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.