By Violet Wisdom
From 2004-2015, the NASA Messenger craft was covering nearly every inch of the planet Mercury. One of the most interesting discoveries that came from this mission was what is believed to be a diamond layer over nine miles thick. Mining for minerals on other planets, the moon and asteroids is no longer the concept of science fiction. This new space race has already brought about new technologies for reaching a neighboring celestial body and extracting minerals once there. While current international law doesn’t allow for ownership of land not on earth, it doesn’t prevent anyone from utilizing it, including mining. Even so, the who, where and when of space exploration is being worked out legislatively. So, good to go on the diamonds, right?
Not exactly. First of all Mercury’s diamond layer is incredibly deep below the surface, possibly hundreds of miles deep. Secondly, a diamond layer is not the same thing as a diamond mine here on earth where we actually find raw diamond rocks. Still, humans are amazing at being able to accomplish the impossible if they want the end result bad enough. Diamonds aren’t just for jewelry. They’re used in drilling, engraving, medical surgeries and heat control. It’s the heat dissipation that will most likely be most benefited by NASA’s discovery. Mercury’s diamond layer is believed to be the reason the planet went through a cooling phase around 3 billion years ago that previously couldn’t be explained. Diamonds are sometimes called ICE not just because they are clear and shiny like ice, but because of their ability to reduce temperature.
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