When you stare off into the night sky, do you ever think about gold? Here on Earth, we know gold is rare. It’s mined from the ground, processed in a gold refinery, and used to make our jewelry, electronics, and even gold crowns and bridges. Gold is all around us, so it makes you wonder: is gold rare in space?
To answer this question, let’s delve into the creation of gold, how much of it exists in space, and how space exploration could open new horizons for asteroid mining and gold refining.
The Cosmic Origins of Gold
Scientists believe that gold originates from neutron stars. Neutron stars are the remaining cores of giant stars after they explode, and they are the densest objects in the universe. For scale, a neutron star may have a diameter of about 12 miles long (smaller than Garfield’s home city of Philadelphia), but just one teaspoon of its contents weighs a billion tons!
When two neutron stars smash together, they create a highly dense environment, and in this environment, gold and other precious metals form. The force from the collision catapults these elements throughout the universe, where they land on comets, asteroids, and planets. Planets like Earth, where we created a whole gold refining industry with what is essentially space debris, and we only have a fraction of all the gold out there. So, how much gold is really out there?
Gold Scarcity in Space
The answer to how much gold there is in the universe lies in the science of how stars produce energy. Stars typically produce lighter elements, such as helium, when burning their primary fuel source: hydrogen. Stars need immense heat and pressure to produce heavier elements like gold. This is the kind of pressure that forms when neutron stars collide, which rarely happens. Because these collisions don’t occur as often as other cosmic events, and because they don’t always produce gold, gold is also scarce in space.
Nevertheless, on the whole, there is more gold in space than on Earth because space is simply exponentially bigger. In fact, gold is more “rare” in space when scaled to the size of the Earth. It is even considered rare when compared to other elements. So, what does this mean for economic opportunity in space and will we refine precious metals out there soon?
The Final Frontier for Gold
While you might not find gold nuggets floating around every corner in space, there is still plenty of gold to go around when humans voyage into space searching for gold like in the California Gold Rush.
In our solar system alone, there is an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter named 16 Psyche that scientists believe contains more than 700 quintillion dollars in gold and other precious metals. That’s a lot of wedding bands and gold crowns!
Not surprisingly, all that gold has inspired the creation of several asteroid mining companies. Planetary Resources, an asteroid mining company, raised $50 million in funding from 2012 to 2016 and launched two test satellites into orbit before its acquisition by ConsenSys in 2018. AstroForge, another asteroid mining company, has raised $13 million in seed funding in 2022 alone.
The race to mine asteroids is on, and maybe Garfield will open its next gold refinery in space. For now, though, we have to stick to refining gold here on Earth. Gold’s cosmic origins and its rarity in space build upon the unique story of gold we tell each day. So each time you sell a piece of gold jewelry or dental scrap, you’ll know its broader connection to the universe.
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FAQs
Stars need immense heat and pressure to produce heavier elements like gold. This is the kind of pressure that forms when neutron stars collide, which rarely happens. Because these collisions don't occur as often as other cosmic events, and because they don't always produce gold, gold is also scarce in space.
Is gold the rarest element in the universe? ›
Gold both has an sonic weight of 79 and is 79th among the 94 naturally- occurring elements. Correspondingly, it is relatively rare. Heavy elements are produced uniformly throughout the universe (as far as we know).
What is the refining rate of gold in space engineers? ›
Conversion
| Raw material (ores) | Conversion ratio | Refined material |
|---|
| Gold | 1% | Gold Ingots |
| Uranium | 1% | Uranium Ingots |
| Magnesium | 0.7% | Magnesium Powder |
| Platinum | 0.5% | Platinum Ingots |
10 more rowsGold is present in space, primarily in asteroids and comets. It is estimated that there could be up to 20 million tons of gold in the asteroid belt alone. However, extracting this gold is currently not economically feasible due to the high cost of space exploration and mining.
How much gold is in space debris? ›
In the space between low orbit and geostationary orbit travel an estimated number of 700,000 objects larger than 1 cm and 170 million objects of dimensions greater than 1 mm. The near Earth space region becomes more and more dangerous.
Why can't scientists make gold? ›
To make the sparkly metal, you have to bind 79 protons and 118 neutrons together to form a single atomic nucleus. That's an intense nuclear fusion reaction. But such intense fusion doesn't happen frequently enough, at least not nearby, to make the giant trove of gold we find on Earth and elsewhere in the solar system.
What is rarest than gold? ›
If translated into numbers, platinum—for all of its known deposits—is considerably more rare than gold and is the rarest metal of all.
What is the rarest ore in space engineers? ›
Uranium Ore is the rarest naturally-occurring ore. The ore has a dark gray and deep black appearance which is well visible against a sunlit asteroid.
Can gold be found on the moon in space engineers? ›
Gold Ingots. It is found in deep veins on planets, moons, and asteroids and it has a shiny metallic yellowish appearance.
Why is gold valuable in space? ›
Gold is a “vital strategic resource” in space, NASA says. Many satellites carry gold-coated mylar sheets to protect them from solar heat, according to NASA. Meanwhile, a thin layer of gold on an astronaut's helmet visor deflects solar radiation.
While the exact economic value of Psyche remains a mystery, it's estimated value spans somewhere between $10 quintillion and $700 quintillion. Psyche's real value, however, is an opportunity to get a peek at what our own planet's core might be like.
What is the rarest thing in space? ›
Almost every galaxy can be classified as a spiral, elliptical, or irregular galaxy. Only 1-in-10,000 galaxies fall into the rarest category of all: ring galaxies. Astatine is the rarest naturally occurring element.
Is gold plentiful in space? ›
Stars need immense heat and pressure to produce heavier elements like gold. This is the kind of pressure that forms when neutron stars collide, which rarely happens. Because these collisions don't occur as often as other cosmic events, and because they don't always produce gold, gold is also scarce in space.
Which planet has gold rain? ›
There is no planet completely filled with gold that we know in the universe there of gold, and no plant that is completely taken over by gold The earth has approximately 208,874 tones mined so far in history and in the universe. It's estimated up to billion's to trillions tons of gold.
Does gold degrade in space? ›
Different materials resist corrosion in space differently. Electrolytes in batteries or cooling loops can cause galvanic corrosion, general corrosion, and stress corrosion. Aluminium is slowly eroded by atomic oxygen, while gold and platinum are highly corrosion-resistant.
What is the gold foil on satellites for? ›
As a reflecting covering, the gold foil serves to shield the satellite from the sun's rays, which can reach temperatures of up to 3000°F. The gold foil also aids in shielding the satellite from space's extreme cold, which can reach -250°F. The gold foil aids in heat reflection, keeping the satellite from overheating.
What is the rarest element in the universe? ›
Astatine is the rarest naturally occurring element. The total amount of astatine in the Earth's crust (quoted mass 2.36 × 1025 grams) is estimated by some to be less than one gram at any given time.
What is Earth's rarest element? ›
Astatine: The chemical element astatine has the atomic number and the symbol . It belongs to group and period of the periodic table. It is the rarest naturally occurring element in the crust of the Earth and only appears as a decay product of several other heavier elements.
What elements are rarer than gold? ›
In nature, thalium, uranium, plutonium, bismuth, polonium, astatine, radon, francium, radium, actinium, thorium, protactinium, neptunium, lead and mercury occur even more rarely than gold.
Is gold more rare than diamond in the universe? ›
But, in its elemental form, gold is significantly rarer than diamonds, Faul told Live Science.
