Asteroid mining
Asteroid mining involves the extraction of minerals and raw materials from asteroids, with the potential for significant economic benefits. As of 2018, no asteroid mining operations have been initiated; however, several companies and space agencies are actively planning for future endeavors, particularly targeting near-Earth asteroids due to their accessibility. The vastness of the asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter, contains millions of asteroids, some of which are estimated to hold enough valuable resources—like nickel, cobalt, and platinum—to exceed the combined worth of all Earth’s economies.
Notably, M-type asteroids, rich in metals, are considered the most lucrative targets. The technology and costs associated with transporting equipment and personnel to space, along with the unique challenges of operating in low gravity, remain significant hurdles. Moreover, the legal landscape surrounding space resource extraction is complex, with varying interpretations of international treaties like the Outer Space Treaty influencing national policies. Companies like Deep Space Industries and Planetary Resources are leading the charge in asteroid mining, aiming to launch exploratory missions in the coming years to assess the viability of mining operations and the potential for using water resources from asteroids for fuel.
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Asteroid mining
Asteroid mining is the potential business of extracting minerals and raw materials from asteroids and other small space objects. As of 2018, humans have yet to begin mining asteroids; however, several companies and national space agencies have been developing plans for future mining operations. A number of exploratory missions to possible mining sites have been planned for the 2020s. The cost and logistics of asteroid mining pose a considerable challenge, but the potential rewards could run into the trillions of dollars. One asteroid—the target of a proposed 2026 mission by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—may contain enough valuable minerals to be worth more than all the economies on Earth combined.
Background
Asteroids are small, rocky objects that were left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. The largest asteroids are hundreds of miles wide, while the smallest may be a little more than 30 feet (9 meters) across. The majority of the asteroids have been herded by gravity into a ring between the planets Mars and Jupiter. Known as the Asteroid Belt, this ring contains an estimated 1.1 to 1.9 million asteroids larger than 0.6 miles (1 kilometer). Other asteroids orbit the individual planets, while a number of asteroids have orbits that bring them close to Earth.
Asteroids are typically divided into three categories based on their composition. The majority of asteroids are C-type asteroids, so named because they are made of carbon-based material. S-type, or “stony” asteroids, are made up of a mixture of minerals such as iron, silicon, nickel, and magnesium. The smallest percentage is classified as M-type. These metallic asteroids are primarily made up of iron with smaller amounts of nickel, platinum, gold, and other minerals.
Overview
M-type asteroids would be the most profitable for mining purposes. An M-type asteroid about 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) wide is estimated to have a mass of about 2 billion tons. That could provide the equivalent of about 30 million tons of nickel, 1.5 million tons of cobalt, and 7,500 tons of platinum. Even smaller asteroids could provide a windfall of mineral wealth. One 3,000-foot (914-meter) wide asteroid with an orbit that came within a million miles of Earth is believed to have an estimated 90 million tons of platinum at its core. That would be worth about $5.4 trillion. The platinum from asteroids about 100 feet (30 meters) across could be worth about $25 to $50 billion.
The most realistic targets for mining are near-Earth asteroids, which are asteroids that come within 30 million miles (48 million kilometers) of Earth’s orbit. As of 2018, astronomers had discovered an estimated 18,600 such asteroids. Of that number, scientists have selected twelve potential mining targets—all between 10 and 70 feet (3 and 21.3 meters) across. While near-Earth asteroids would be more cost-effective to mine, the larger M-type objects in the Asteroid Belt contain staggering amounts of potential wealth. In 2017, NASA gave the go-ahead for a mission to the asteroid 16 Psyche, a 124-mile (200-kilometer) wide object in the Asteroid Belt. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch in 2022 and arrive in 2026. The asteroid contains so much nickel and iron that if it were to be mined it would be worth about $10,000 quadrillion. That would dwarf the combined $76 trillion produced by all the economies on Earth.
The largest obstacles to potential mining operations are logistics and cost. Humans have nowhere near the technology needed to mine an asteroid such as 16 Psyche. Even missions to smaller, near-Earth asteroids carry a considerable price tag. Transporting equipment, machinery, housing facilities, and mining crews into space would cost many billions of dollars. While the basic mining techniques would be similar to Earth-based mining, dealing with the dangers of space and lower gravity would pose another set of problems. Miners may need to set up a large canopy-like device to collect the material before it can fly off into space. They would also need to make their own fuel by breaking down water mined from the asteroid. The hydrogen and oxygen fuel would then be used to power a craft carrying the material back to Earth.
Another possible complication of asteroid mining is the question of legality. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty—which was signed by more than one hundred countries—prohibits nations from claiming sovereignty over space bodies or using them for military purposes. Many legal experts say the prohibition does not apply to landing on and extracting raw materials from a space object. However, some nations, such as Russia, Brazil, and Belgium, claim the treaty prohibits such actions. Nevertheless, in 2015, the United States passed a law allowing American citizens to claim resource and property rights on asteroids. The tiny European nation of Luxembourg also passed a similar law in an attempt to position itself as a global leader in asteroid mining.
By 2018, two private companies have emerged as industry leaders in the race to mine asteroids. Deep Space Industries was founded in 2013 and is based in Mountain View, California. The company’s original ambitious plan was to launch a fleet of exploratory spacecraft by 2015 and begin mining operations within a decade. The company later adjusted its plan to launch its first prospecting craft in 2020.
Planetary Resources was founded in 2010 in Redmond, Washington. Among its investors are Larry Page, one of the cofounders of Google, and film director James Cameron. Planetary Resources has plans to launch a rocket carrying multiple exploratory spacecraft sometime in the 2020s. The probes will each be deployed to a specific near-Earth asteroid to collect information and test samples. The company’s goal is to identify asteroids that are the best candidates to contain water. It hopes to use the water to provide fuel for future space mining operations.
Bibliography
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Zaleski, Andrew. “Luxembourg Leads the Trillion-Dollar Race to Become the Silicon Valley of Asteroid Mining.” CNBC, 16 Apr. 2018, www.cnbc.com/2018/04/16/luxembourg-vies-to-become-the-silicon-valley-of-asteroid-mining.html. Accessed 12 Sept. 2018.