Near Earth Objects (NEO) as Material Resources for Future Space Architecture Applications

This paper presents and discusses constraints in developing a sustainable infrastructure in orbit using Near Earth Objects (NEO) as material resources. As the Earth-launch based construction concepts show high cost assumptions, the utilization of terrestrial materials in combination with existing resources in space must be researched intensively. NEO, compared to the moon and other sources have significant advantages in the areas of mining, retrieving and extracting construction materials or volatiles. Manufacturing processes of NEO for different concepts include, but are not limited to, solar satellites, power relay stations transferring energy to an ocean-based station for hydrogen production and habitable facilities for research or planetary exploration purposes.