Folks have been discussing mining other objects and worlds in our solar system for decades, but exactly what is out there to be mined and utilized by astronauts isn’t well known. Sure, we know there is helium and water and some metals, but, if you’re going to truly set up a home in outer space, it might be nice to find some other creature comforts. For instance, baby powder. 

In a press release that made Pamela giggle, a team led by Takafumi Ootsubo announces the discovery of a dead comet covered in large-grained phyllosilicate. What is phyllosilicate? Why it is the scientific term for talcum powder. This particular dead comet is called P/2016 BA14, and it is about 800 meters across. After many trips through the inner solar system, it has used up most of its ice and is now a core coated in talcum powder. By studying the state of this material, researchers were able to figure out this dead comet has been heated to more than 330 degrees Celcius in its past, so it’s baked on talcum powder. I don’t really foresee anyone mining this comet any time soon, but it’s good to know if you have problems with your space suit chafing, there is a solution out there among the worlds.

More Information

NAOJ press release

“Mid-infrared observations of the nucleus of comet P/2016 BA14 (PANSTARRS),” Takafumi Ootsubo, Hideyo Kawakita, and Yoshiharu Shinnaka, 2021 July 15, Icarus