Asteroid mining is the exploitation of raw materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects.
Minerals can be mined from an asteroid or spent comet then
used in space for construction materials or taken back to Earth.These include gold, iridium, silver, osmium, palladium,
platinum, rhenium, rhodium, ruthenium and tungsten for transport back to Earth;
iron, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, aluminum, and titanium for
construction.
Due to the high launch and transportation costs of
spaceflight, inaccurate identification of asteroids suitable for mining, and
in-situ ore extraction challenges, terrestrial mining remains the only means of
raw mineral acquisition today. If space program funding, either public or
private, dramatically increases, this situation is likely to change in the
future as resources on Earth are becoming increasingly scarce and the full
potentials of asteroid mining—and space exploration in general—are researched
in greater detail. However, it is yet uncertain whether asteroid mining will
develop to attain the volume and composition needed in due time to fully
compensate for dwindling terrestrial reserves.
Purpose
Based on known terrestrial reserves, and growing consumption
in both developed and developing countries, key elements needed for modern
industry and food production could be exhausted on Earth within 50–60 years.
These include phosphorus, antimony, zinc, tin, lead, indium, silver, gold and copper.
In response, it has been suggested that platinum, cobalt and other valuable
elements from asteroids may be mined and sent to Earth for profit, used to
build solar-power satellites and space habitats, and water processed from ice to
refuel orbiting propellant depots.
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