Everything You Need To Know About Space Mining

The race for space mining began several decades ago at the hands of countries and companies, their intention was to investigate asteroids near planet Earth. For some years now, important global startups have been looking for a way to send a ship to one of the asteroids in near space to extract its riches and bring them to our planet. Now technology may be on the verge of doing this, although there are still risks and legal considerations to take into account.

So far, more than 12,000 mineral-filled asteroids have been identified, with an abundance of precious metals in concentrations much higher than those found on Earth. These asteroids are located within a radius of approximately 45 million kilometers from our planet.

Asteroid PSYCHE 16 and Other Asteroids

The spearhead of these space mining surveys was the discovery by NASA of a large asteroid valued at 700 quintillion dollars, a price higher than that of the entire global economy of our planet. It would contain enough heavy metals (gold, iron, and nickel) for each person on Earth to receive a trillion dollars.

Its name is PSYCHE 16 and it is located between Mars and Jupiter. The importance of this space body is so great that NASA plans to begin exploration of the asteroid in 2022, together with Space X, the company of billionaire Elon Musk.

In the same region of PSYCHE 16 is another asteroid made up predominantly of platinum. It is estimated that it could be worth more than $ 30 billion. Apparently, if the extraterrestrial space is exploited and used to the maximum, it could offer for life, all the mineral resources necessary for science, the health industry and much of the rest of the business sectors of the planet.

A fortune In Space

The gold owners, who currently control the world’s most productive mines, produce 4-5 million ounces of gold annually. These numbers pale in comparison to the possible conquests made possible by space mining. Everything will depend on two key factors: The economic viability of these projects and the development of companies in space technology.

Near the Earth there are at least 1500 asteroids that can be reached more easily than the Moon. Countless tons of metals such as plutonium, rare earths could be extracted from them to make electronic devices and water that in the future will be used as fuel in spacecraft. 

The reason it is easier to reach asteroids is because a spacecraft would not have to land, but dock, because the gravitational field of asteroids is not as strong as that of the Moon or Earth and does not demand as much fuel. Another advantage of space mining is that, unlike on Earth, where minerals and other resources are close to the core, asteroids do not have to dig a lot to get them because they are more evenly distributed on the surface.

Likewise, the Moon is home to gold and platinum, as well as rare earthly metals. Scientists assure that the satellite has enough gravity so that a mining activity can work there.

Countries and Companies In Space Mining

The United States and China are already taking positions for what will be the next “boom” in the space mining industry. Even Japan and Europe are also interested. According to the English company Asteroid Mining Company, once the infrastructure is set up, the possibilities will be almost endless. The first “trillionaire” in history will be the person who exploits the natural resources of asteroids; and there are already candidates for it.

The Planetary Resources company, financed by investors such as Larry Page, James Cameron or Richard Branson, has been working on its ARKYD ship for a long time.

The same is true of DSI, which is very advanced in the design of its FIREFLY ship. And although there is at least a decade to go before these ships will deploy their mining operations, they have decades of research and work in space mining behind them. 

These companies aim not only to extract minerals and fuels from these huge rocks, but also water. They consider water to be the most important resource because it is the foundation on which to build large-scale human exploration of space.

At an early stage in the United States are Aten Engineering and Trans Astra Corporation, which have facilities for engineers to develop their own technology.

Luxembourg, one of the richest countries in the eurozone, offers facilities for companies dedicated to this sector to set up there. In 2016, his government approved to dedicate some 200 million euros of its budgets to offer financing and subsidies, trusting that space mining will bring to his country the same profits that in the 1980s the communications satellite companies brought them.

The Future Market For Space Mining

In general terms, it is estimated that the global market for asteroid mining will reach 3,800 million dollars in 2025, taking into account ongoing and future missions, as well as the increase in investments in technologies for the sector, such as the spaceships. Other international forecasts place this market at 2.7 trillion dollars by the year 2040.

It is believed that in the future the International Space Station, or even human colonies, could be supplied with water from asteroids, while metals from asteroids would be used at different construction sites elsewhere in the Solar System.

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