planetary resources

Chris Lewicki on Space: Stop Reading About It And Start Doing It!

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Chris-LewickiChris Lewicki is the president and Chief Asteroid Miner at Planetary Resources – the first company that plans to locate and mine asteroids for water and precious metals. The company is backed by a number of billionaires and space enthusiasts such as director James Cameron, Google’s Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt, X Prize founder Peter Diamandis and billionaire Ross Perot Jr., along with a number of other incredible minds. As Michio Kaku once put it: “You can’t go wrong if you put together a bunch of billionaires and NASA scientists.” And so I was very excited to interview Chris Lewicki for Singularity 1 on 1.

During my conversation with Lewicki we cover a variety of interesting topics such as: how Chris got inspired to work on space exploration; his teenage “deviation” into rock-and-roll music; science fiction, Star Trek and Star Wars; Planetary Resources and its mission; the ARKYD series of spacecraft and their current Kickstarter project;  the importance of building a community; the company vision timeline; the potential for space war; artificial intelligence and the technological singularity…

My two favorite quotes that I will take away from this conversation with Chris Lewicki are:

In space it’s not about the distance; It’s really about the energy.

and

Stop reading about it and start doing it!

As always you can listen to or download the audio file above or scroll down and watch the video interview in full. To show your support you can write a review on iTunes, make a direct donation, or become a patron on Patreon.

 

Who is Chris Lewicki?

Mr. Lewicki holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona. Chris has been intimately involved with the lifecycle of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers and the Phoenix Mars Lander. Chris performed system engineering development and participated in assembly, test, and launch operations for both Mars missions. He was Flight Director for the rovers Spirit and Opportunity, and the Surface Mission Manager for Phoenix. The recipient of two NASA Exceptional Achievement Medals, Lewicki has an asteroid named in his honor: 13609 Lewicki. At Planetary Resources, Mr. Lewicki is responsible for the strategic development of the company’s mission and vision, engagement with customers and the scientific community, serves as technical compass, and leads day-to-day operations.

Asteroids and You:

 

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Peter Diamandis at OCE Discovery: Technology is a Resource Liberating Force

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P1040698This year’s OCE Discovery conference in Toronto was the first of five consequent events that I am attending within the next 3 weeks. The other four are the just finished Subtle Technologies Festival and the upcoming Global Future 2045 Congress in NY City, the ISTAS13 Conference and the Pros and Cons of Drones in Toronto.

Out of the first two events the highlight for me was Peter Diamandis‘ keynote speech at the OCE Discovery conference. It is for this reason that I wanted to share it with those who, unlike me, were not able to see it in person.

During his 1 hour presentation Peter Diamandis talks about exponential technologies (such as AI, robotics, genetics, synthetic biology, computer science, 3D printing); incentivized competitions organized by his X Prize foundation; Abundance and Planetary Resources.

The favorite quote that I will take away from Diamandis’ keynote is: “Technology is a resource liberating force!”

 

Here are a few images I took at the conference:

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The conference was opened by the Honorable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario
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Then Peter Diamandis showered attendees with his infinite amounts of abundance and personal energy
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I have rarely seen a more focused and attentive audience of this size
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After his speech Diamandis casually mingled with attendees
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…and signed copies of his book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think
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Peter was almost constantly mobbed by crowds of people eager to talk to him
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… but still managed to find time and give a few interviews for the media

 

Peter Diamandis and James Cameron Go AVATAR, Launch the First Asteroid Mining Company

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Planetary Resources – the first asteroid mining company, has been mostly a secret up until now.

The company is backed by a number of billionaires and space enthusiasts. Director James Cameron, Google’s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, X Prize founder Peter Diamandis and billionaire Ross Perot Jr., along with a number of other incredible minds, plan to mine the heavens and get rich beyond comprehension.

Even before the official news has broken there are already over 200 reports on the front pages of the Huffington Post, Drudge Report, Wall Street Journal and coverage has been growing exponentially.

However, the official launch is later on today (April 24th, 2012) when Planetary Resources co-founder & co-chairman Peter Diamandis will make the announcement via a live webcast at 10:30am Pacific Time.

You can watch the webcast here:

Asteroid mining will create a trillion-dollar industry (credit: Planetary Resources)

 

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