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Hey there! Welcome to Life Noggin.
大家好！欢迎来到脑洞大开的生命奇想。
Space exploration has taught us a lot about the stars, our universe, and even our own planet. But what if space can make you rich?
太空探索教会了我们很多关于恒星，宇宙，甚至我们星球的知识。但如果空间能让你变得富有，会怎么样呢？
There are some elements up in space that are very valuable here on Earth.
太空中有一些元素在地球上是很值钱的。
Many are found inside asteroids and can be worth billions or trillions of dollars if we could mine them.
很多都是在小行星中发现的，如果我们能开采的话，它们的价值将达到数十亿甚至数万亿美元。
The most expensive are platinum-group metals, which are rare on Earth but necessary for high-tech devices and electronics.
最昂贵的是铂族金属，这种金属在地球上很稀有，但对于高科技设备和电子设备来说是必不可少的。
Scientists think that some asteroids contain more platinum-group metals than are in all the Earth's reserves.
科学家们认为，一些小行星含有的铂类金属比地球多。
One asteroid that passed us in 2015 likely contained 90 million metric tons of these metals... worth up to 5 trillion dollars.
一颗2015年从我们身边经过的小行星可能含有9000万公吨的这种金属……价值高达5万亿美元。
You can also find iron, nickel, and cobalt in certain asteroids. But the most valuable item might be water.
你也可能在某些小行星上发现铁、镍和钴。但是最有价值的东西可能是水。
It's really expensive to ship water up to space — just 16 ounces costs a whopping 2500 dollars.
把水运送到太空代价很高——仅仅16盎司就需要2500美元。
If there was a reliable source up above the stratosphere, it would have a lot of uses.
如果在平流层之上有一个可靠的水源，那将有很多用途。
Water is necessary for the cooling systems on the International Space Station, and it could potentially be used as a radiation shield for astronauts.
对于国际空间站的冷却系统来说，水是必不可少的，它还有可能被宇航员用来屏蔽辐射。
But the most lucrative use is to split it into hydrogen and oxygen... the basic elements of rocket fuel.
但最赚钱的用途是将它分解成氢和氧，那是火箭燃料的基本要素。
This would essentially turn a water-filled asteroid into a space gas station, allowing vehicles to refuel and venture farther away.
这就从本质上把一个充满水的小行星变成一个太空站，飞行器可以加燃料，然后去更远的地方。
Another potential source of water is our neighbor, the moon. And the moon has other valuable elements as well.
另一个潜在的水源是我们的邻居，月球。月球还有其他有价值的元素。
It contains Helium 3, which is extremely rare on Earth but could potentially be used in nuclear fusion reactors, if we can get fusion to work on our planet.
它含有氦-3，这在地球上是非常罕见的，但是如果我们能在地球上完成核聚变，氦-3可能会用于核聚变反应堆。
The total value of the moon's resources has been estimated at between 150 and 500 QUADRILLION dollars. Yep, QUADRILLION.
据估计，月球资源的总价值在150到500万亿美元之间。是的，万亿。
Although space mining isn't easy, it's definitely possible, and several companies are currently working out how to do it.
尽管太空采矿并不容易，但它绝对是可能实现的，而且一些公司目前正在研究如何进行太空采矿。
An asteroid's gravity is too weak to hold down a spacecraft, so the goal is to dock it like a vehicle docks with the Space Station.
一颗小行星的引力太弱，无法承接宇宙飞船，所以目标是将其宇宙飞船对接，就像飞行器与空间站对接那样。
The real challenge is to figure out which asteroids are worth going to.
真正的挑战在于弄清楚哪些小行星值得去。
There are roughly 1500 candidates nearby, but they can be faint and hard to detect from Earth.
附近大约有1500个候选行星，但它们可能很模糊，很难从地球上探测到。
Infrared technology helps us with that, but it's difficult to know if the readings are accurate.
红外线技术可以帮助我们做到这一点，但是很难知道读数是否准确。
Also, even though an asteroid's gravity isn't strong, it can still mess with spacecraft.
而且，即使小行星的引力不强，它也能干扰航天器。
Unlike the round moon, asteroids have irregular shapes, making their gravitational pull vary depending on where you are.
与圆圆的月亮不同的是，小行星的形状不规则，其引力的大小取决于你所在的位置。
Getting around these "humps" will take some work.
绕过这些“峰”需要费点事。
Still, at least one company thinks that they will be extracting water from asteroids by about 2027.
不过，至少有一家公司认为，到2027年，他们能从小行星上抽取水。
And NASA's Resource Prospector mission wants to be the first to mine the moon, with the hopes of launching a craft in the early 2020s.
美国国家航空和宇宙航行局的资源勘探者任务想要率先开采月球，希望在本世纪20年代早期发射一艘飞船。
So what do you think? Should we mine in space? Is it worth it?
你怎么看？我们应该在太空采矿吗？值得吗？
Let me know in the comments section below. And if you enjoyed this video, then you should definitely check out our video on what space travel does to your body.
请在下面的评论栏中告诉我。如果你喜欢这个视频，那么你一定要看看我们关于太空旅行对身体的影响的视频。
That's because their bones don't have to support as much weight and they aren't subjected to the same stresses that they would be on Earth.
这是因为他们的骨头不需要支撑那么多重量，也不会受到在地球上是那样的压力。
As a result the calcium in their bones is broken down and released into the bloodstream reflecting a decrease in bone density.
结果，骨骼中的钙被分解并释放到血液中，骨密度下降。
My name is Blocko. This has been Life Noggin. Don't forget to keep on thinking.
我的名字叫宝高。这就是生活。别忘了继续思考。
