The PlayStation game No Man’s Sky offers a glimpse into a world not far removed from how life on Earth is panning out, as countries scramble to stockpile the critical raw materials and minerals — like silicon, cobalt, copper, lithium, platinum, palladium, nickel and manganese — and rare earth elements — like dysprosium, neodymium, praseodymium and terbium — needed to power a lower-carbon future.
In the game, space travellers’ survival hinges on their ability to find and extract these critical metals and minerals to power bases, electric vehicles and rockets, and construct buildings that provide shelter from the radioactive and toxic elements on less-than-hospitable planets.
