{"id":19703,"date":"2013-05-29T21:43:26","date_gmt":"2013-05-29T13:43:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/asteroid-mining-company-launches-1m-kickstarter-campaign-for-worlds-first-crowdfunded-space-telescope\/"},"modified":"2013-05-29T21:43:26","modified_gmt":"2013-05-29T13:43:26","slug":"asteroid-mining-company-launches-1m-kickstarter-campaign-for-worlds-first-crowdfunded-space-telescope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/asteroid-mining-company-launches-1m-kickstarter-campaign-for-worlds-first-crowdfunded-space-telescope\/","title":{"rendered":"Asteroid-mining company launches $1M Kickstarter campaign for world\u2019s first crowdfunded space telescope"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/1458134548\/arkyd-a-space-telescope-for-everyone-0\/widget\/video.html\" height=\"360\" width=\"480\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-100063\" alt=\"planetaryarkyd\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/planetaryarkyd.png\" width=\"307\" height=\"336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/planetaryarkyd.png 438w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/planetaryarkyd-274x300.png 274w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/planetaryarkyd-200x219.png 200w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/planetaryarkyd-91x100.png 91w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 307px) 100vw, 307px\">When Planetary Resources first announced its plans to&nbsp;mine near-earth asteroids&nbsp;last year, the response was&nbsp;impressive. More than 3,500 people applied for jobs, another 2,500 inquired about investing&nbsp;and nearly 50,000 reached out wanting to get involved in some way or another.<\/p>\n<p>While the Bellevue-based company could only allow a select few onto the team, it knew there was some serious public interest in the mission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hit a nerve far more than we expected,\u201d co-founder Peter Diamandis&nbsp;tells GeekWire in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>So today, Planetary Resources is announcing a new way to engage the community \u2014 launching a $1 million Kickstarter<span style=\"font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px;\">&nbsp;campaign&nbsp;for the world\u2019s first crowdfunded space telescope. The idea was tossed around last June, but now it\u2019s actually happening.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Planetary Resources is funded by big-name investors including Google\u2019s Larry Page and Eric Schmidt, but the public campaign will allow the company to involve the public more directly. If the Kickstarter project is funded, the company will build and launch a customized version of its Arkyd-100&nbsp;with an external camera into near-Earth orbit, and anyone will be able to point the telescope to explore space.<\/p>\n<p>Participants will be able to use a special online interface to request a view of anything in the Solar System \u2014 an object on Earth, a point in space, etc. From its position in orbit, the Arkyd-100 will have a unique vantage point around the clock.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, it\u2019s really about giving the public a chance to be involved in the next era of exploration, where it\u2019s not just watching NASA do it,\u201d Diamandis said. \u201cThis is citizen science at its best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If the $1 million funding goal is reached by June 30, Planetary will build the telescope and launch it in early 2015.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf there\u2019s enough interest, we may end up building two-to-three telescopes,\u201d Diamandis added. \u201cWe might have a constellation of space telescopes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You may get a kick out of the Kickstarter pledge levels, which are pretty creative. The lower cost pledges offer \u201cSpace Selfies,\u201d which allow you to send an image of yourself that Planetary will capture with Earth as the background. Here\u2019s an example of that:<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-100059\" alt=\"Space Selfie his res\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Space-Selfie-his-res-1024x781.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"457\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Space-Selfie-his-res-1024x781.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Space-Selfie-his-res-300x229.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Space-Selfie-his-res-200x152.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Space-Selfie-his-res-130x100.jpg 130w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Space-Selfie-his-res.jpg 1716w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"><\/p>\n<p>The more expensive pledge levels allow for 30-minute observations with the Arkyd and other add-ons like tours of the company headquarters and access to a curriculum and tutorial developed by the team at Planetary. The highest level, a \u201cGrand Benefactor and Education Ambassador,\u201d runs at $10,000 and lets the donor sponsor Arkyd time for a&nbsp;K-12 school, university or museum, and includes tickets to Planetary events as well as a personal signature on the actual spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>Diamandis said that there could be a number of benefits from the telescope if it\u2019s funded, both for the public and Planetary Resources. The company wants to build out a community that can potentially help Planetary perform tasks like data analysis and software development.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_37486\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-37486\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-37486\" alt=\"Peter Diamandis, Chris Lewicki and Eric Anderson of Planetary Resource. \" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/trio-300x168.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/trio-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/trio-200x112.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/trio.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-37486\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Peter Diamandis, Chris Lewicki and Eric Anderson of Planetary Resources.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Then there\u2019s the education side. Along with Planetary\u2019s Chief Asteroid Miner Chris Lewicki, Diamandis has been involved with space education for the past 20 years, founding Students for the Exploration and Development of Space&nbsp;as well as two universities. He said this campaign continues that mission of getting kids more involved with learning.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst-hand participation is the way people learn and get&nbsp;excited,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Planetary has some of the high-profile supporters for this new venture, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Virgin\u2019s Sir&nbsp;Richard Branson<\/li>\n<li>Actor&nbsp;Seth Green<\/li>\n<li><em>Star Trek<\/em>\u2019s&nbsp;Brent Spiner&nbsp;(Data) and&nbsp;Rob Picardo&nbsp;(The Doctor)<\/li>\n<li>Bill Nye&nbsp;the Science Guy<\/li>\n<li>Futurist&nbsp;Jason Silva<\/li>\n<li>MIT astrophysicist&nbsp;Dr. Sara Seager<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Planetary is already backed by some of the&nbsp;biggest names in technology and aerospace&nbsp;and is&nbsp;planning to send spacecraft into orbit to&nbsp;ultimately swarm asteroids to mine natural resources like water and&nbsp;platinum group metals.&nbsp;The company has doubled in size since last year and recently inked a big partnership with Bechtel Corporation, the largest construction and engineering company in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re just having a blast,\u201d Diamandis said. \u201cI\u2019m very proud of the team for really knocking down barrier after barrier.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For a visual look at the new campaign, here\u2019s a rather large infographic from Planetary:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-100058\" alt=\"infographicarkyd\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/infographicarkyd.jpg\" width=\"548\" height=\"3504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/infographicarkyd-47x300.jpg 47w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/infographicarkyd-194x1240.jpg 194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 548px) 100vw, 548px\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Planetary Resources first announced its plans to&nbsp;mine near-earth asteroids&nbsp;last year, the response was&nbsp;impressive. More than 3,500 people applied for jobs, another 2,500 inquired about investing&nbsp;and nearly 50,000 reached out wanting to get involved in some way or another. While the Bellevue-based company could only allow a select few onto the team, it knew there [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5301,5655,4365,5555,4820,4905],"class_list":["post-19703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-arkyd","tag-arykd","tag-asteroid","tag-kickstarter","tag-planetary-resources","tag-star-wars"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19703"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19703\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}