If we ever set out into space to mine stuff like asteroids, and utilized the resources from said asteroid, would we be a more advanced civilization (when I mean advanced I mean like building stuff like the Dyson's Sphere or maybe a colony on planets outside our solar system)?
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2$\begingroup$ Your question as written may be problematic to answer as it stands, being two rather different questions both fairly broad. Suggest having a look at existing questions tagged mining space.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/mining?tab=Votes and consider doing an edit to make it more focused, in particular space.stackexchange.com/q/633/26356. $\endgroup$– GremlinWrangerCommented May 16 at 11:25
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1$\begingroup$ You will need to define "sustainable" since it has strong connotations and its definitions vary by source. $\endgroup$– WoodyCommented May 16 at 15:37
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$\begingroup$ Depends what you mean by sustainable, I agree with @Woody. If you mean economically you would have a far more complex answer. If you mean is it possible to use asteroid and NEO mining to allow for resource sustainable and launch minimization, then yes is your answer, IN THEORY. (: $\endgroup$– AnarchoEngineerCommented May 16 at 22:41
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Put simply, the more we can find and/or make in outer space, the less reliant space settlements will be on regular shipments from Earth. It currently costs an average of \$10,000 to \$25,000 per kilogram to launch things into orbit from Earth, meaning that if everything always had to come from Earth, sustaining a colony in space would be too cost prohibitive. Asteroid mining would also be a way for whoever funded the initial settlement to recoup the price of setting it up.
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1$\begingroup$ It might be worth making it explicit - Asteroid mining has little to offer Earth, which as name suggests has plenty of various sorts of dirt and rock but is critical to any plan to live elsewhere. $\endgroup$ Commented May 17 at 6:33