Bridging Resource Constraints Using Asteroid Mining

Inspiration

A space related solution to a problem highlighted by the dataset.

What it does

Our analysis uses datasets drawn from BEA’s “Space Economy” statistics, which span from 2012-2023. In our dataset, we identified that negative externalities can impact all parts of an economy, as demonstrated by the impact of halting trade on manufacturing in private industries. In order to minimize the severity of these dips in production across the economy and to decrease any dependence on imports of high-value resources as a bottleneck point for political bargaining, asteroid mining may be a viable point to research further and more seriously to make it efficient enough to make scarce resources more abundant.

How we built it

To prepare our dataset, we manually collapsed over specific categories using Excel. Specifically, we removed sub-industries at the “sub-of-sub” and deeper levels while still preserving their totals at the main industry and sub-industry levels. This way, the dataset remains representative of the full space economy while also being possible for our analysis. We then used Python to isolate important rows and create visualizations.

Challenges we ran into

Although we came up with a solid business-related idea using our dataset, a challenge we faced was figuring out a research question that we would be able to provide a solution to relating to “Zero-Gravity”. One of our main challenges we encountered was the formatting of the dataset. The data has been structured hierarchically through indents, but they were only visual cues and not true hierarchical variables. This made categorizing and parsing the information more difficult since it wasn't systematically organized.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We had identified a few problems and solutions, but were struggling to come up with an idea that related to our theme of zero gravity. Our ability to research and learn about asteroid mining and both its worth and feasibility with today’s technologies.

What we learned

We learned how to clean, organize, and analyse data using Excel and Python. Additionally, as this was our first hackathon, we gained valuable experience that we can use to approach our next hackathon.

What's next for Bridging Resource Constraints Using Asteroid Mining

Having the researchers and engineers design and test a type of reusable rocket that can identify and collect resources from M-type and possibly also L-type asteroids from the main belt (an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter).