Guests: John Batchelor, Dr. John Lewis, Dr. David Livingston. Topics: Asteroid mining, Law of The Sea Treaty, asteroid resources. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog,http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com. During our 11.5 minute discussion, Mr. Batchelor as Dr. Lewis about asteroid mining and just how realistic was it. Dr. Lewis said we could be starting such ventures within 2-3 years with potential profits being realized about ten years later but that does not mean asteroid mining will actually happen in that time frame. The issue of seabed mining came up and Dr. Lewis was asked if the Law Of The Sea Treaty was a successful model for space mining. Dr. Lewis explained why in detail it was not a good model. Mr. Batchelor then asked about the early days of exploration initiating in Europe and he asked Dr. Lewis if that type of model might evolve for mining the solar system. Dr. Lewis had much to say about this issue and what it will mean for the industry depending on how issues are legally settled. He also suggested that such issues would not be settled until a private company actually started an off Earth mining project. Dr. Lewis made several important points during this short segment. Please post your comments/questions on The Space Show blog. If you want to email Dr. Lewis or Mr. Batchelor, please send your note to me and I will forward it on your behalf.