Asteroids are the new frontier of space exploration and mining. They contain valuable metals and minerals that can be used for clean energy and other applications on Earth and in space. But how do we mine asteroids? What are the challenges and opportunities? And who are the companies leading the way?
In this blog post, I will answer these questions and more. I will also share some of the latest developments and innovations in asteroid mining, such as AstroForge’s fundraising campaign, NASA’s sample collection from Bennu, and new technologies for extracting water from asteroids.
If you are interested in learning more about asteroid mining, read on!
What is Asteroid Mining?
Asteroid mining is the process of extracting resources from asteroids, which are small rocky bodies that orbit the sun. There are millions of asteroids in the solar system, ranging in size from a few meters to hundreds of kilometers. Some of them are rich in metals and minerals, such as nickel, cobalt, platinum, iron, and water.
Asteroid mining has several potential benefits, such as:
- Reducing the environmental impact of mining on Earth: Mining on Earth can cause deforestation, pollution, habitat loss, and human rights violations. Mining in space can avoid these problems and reduce the demand for terrestrial resources.
- Supporting the clean energy transition: Many of the metals and minerals found on asteroids are essential for clean energy technologies, such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries. Mining asteroids can help meet the growing demand for these materials and lower their costs.
- Enabling the development of the space economy: Mining asteroids can provide the raw materials and fuel for building and operating spacecraft, satellites, habitats, and other infrastructure in space. This can create new opportunities for scientific exploration, commercial activities, and human settlement in space.
How to Mine Asteroids?
Mining asteroids is not an easy task. It requires overcoming several technical, economic, and legal challenges, such as:
- Identifying and selecting suitable asteroids: Not all asteroids are equally valuable or accessible. Mining companies need to find and analyze asteroids that have high concentrations of the desired resources, are close enough to Earth, and have favorable orbits and rotations.
- Launching and operating spacecraft: Mining companies need to design and launch spacecraft that can reach and rendezvous with the target asteroids, perform various operations, such as landing, drilling, extracting, processing, and transporting the resources, and return safely to Earth or other destinations.
- Reducing the costs and risks of space missions: Mining companies need to find ways to lower the costs and risks of space missions, such as using reusable rockets, modular spacecraft, robotic systems, and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques, which involve using the resources available in space to support the mission.
- Securing the rights and regulations for asteroid mining: Mining companies need to obtain the rights and permissions to mine asteroids, which are currently unclear and contested. The existing international treaties and national laws for space activities do not explicitly address asteroid mining, and there are different views and interests among the stakeholders.
Despite these challenges, several companies and agencies are pursuing asteroid mining projects, using various methods and technologies. Here are some of the recent examples:
AstroForge: Raising Funds to Develop a Spacecraft that Can Mine Asteroids
AstroForge is a Los Angeles-based company that aims to mine asteroids for platinum-group metals, which are rare and valuable metals used for catalytic converters, fuel cells, and electronics. The company plans to bring refined material from an asteroid back to Earth by the end of the decade.
To achieve this goal, AstroForge is developing a spacecraft that can perform a solid-state reaction between lanarkite (Pb 2 SO 5) and copper phosphide (Cu 3 P), which are two compounds that can be found on metallic asteroids. The reaction, according to the company, can transform the mixture into a dark gray, superconductive material called LK-99, which contains high concentrations of platinum-group metals.
AstroForge recently launched a fundraising campaign on the crowdfunding platform Republic, where it is seeking to raise up to $5 million from accredited and non-accredited investors. The company claims that it has already secured a contract with a major aerospace company to launch its spacecraft in 2024, and that it has identified a target asteroid that has a high probability of containing the desired compounds.
NASA: Successfully Collecting Samples from Asteroid Bennu
NASA is the US space agency that has been exploring and studying asteroids for decades. One of its most ambitious and successful missions is OSIRIS-REx, which stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, and Regolith Explorer. The mission’s main objective is to collect and return samples from asteroid Bennu, which is a carbonaceous asteroid that may contain organic molecules and water.
OSIRIS-REx launched in 2016 and arrived at Bennu in 2018. After two years of mapping and surveying the asteroid, the spacecraft performed a daring maneuver in October 2020, where it briefly touched down on the surface of Bennu and collected a sample of dust and rocks using a robotic arm. The spacecraft then stowed the sample in a capsule and began its journey back to Earth in May 2021. The capsule is expected to land in the Utah desert in September 2023, where it will be retrieved and analyzed by scientists.
OSIRIS-REx is the first US mission to collect and return samples from an asteroid, and the third in the world, after Japan’s Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions, which collected samples from asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu, respectively. The samples from Bennu could provide insights into the origin and evolution of the solar system, the origin of life on Earth, and the potential for asteroid mining.
New Technologies: Extracting Water from Asteroids as Fuel for Spacecraft
Water is one of the most valuable resources in space, as it can be used for drinking, growing plants, and making oxygen and hydrogen, which are the main components of rocket fuel. Water can be found on some asteroids, especially the C-type asteroids, which are the most common and have a high percentage of carbon and water.
One of the new technologies that could enable extracting water from asteroids is the Optical Mining method, developed by TransAstra, a Los Angeles-based company that is working on asteroid mining technologies with support from NASA grants. The Optical Mining method uses concentrated sunlight to heat and fracture the surface of an asteroid, releasing water vapor and other volatiles, which are then captured and stored in inflatable bags.
Another new technology that could enable extracting water from asteroids is the Microwave Sintering method, developed by Karman+, a Denver-based company that is working on asteroid mining and manufacturing. The Microwave Sintering method uses microwaves to heat and melt the surface of an asteroid, creating a layer of molten regolith, which is the loose layer of dust and rocks on the surface. The molten regolith can then be shaped and solidified into various structures, such as landing pads, habitats, and solar panels. The process also releases water vapor and other volatiles, which can be collected and used as fuel or for other purposes.
Both of these technologies have the potential to make asteroid mining more feasible and efficient, as they can reduce the need for heavy and expensive equipment, such as drills and excavators, and use the resources available in space to support the mission.
All in all, Asteroid mining is a promising and exciting field that could revolutionize the future of space exploration and development. It could provide abundant and sustainable resources for clean energy and other applications on Earth and in space, and create new opportunities for scientific discovery and commercial innovation.
However, asteroid mining also faces many challenges and uncertainties, such as technical difficulties, high costs, legal issues, and ethical concerns. It will require collaboration and coordination among various stakeholders, such as governments, companies, researchers, and the public, to ensure that asteroid mining is done in a safe, responsible, and beneficial way.
If you want to learn more about asteroid mining, here are some of the sources and references that I used for this blog post:
- AstroForge
- NASA OSIRIS-REx
- TransAstra
- Karman+
- Lange, I. and Paniagua, P. (2021). The Economics of Space Mining. IMF Working Paper No. 2021/232.
- Corrado, L. (2021). The Space Economy: A Macroeconomic Perspective. IMF Working Paper No. 2021/233.
- Weinzierl, M. (2021). Space, the Final Economic Frontier. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 35(4), 192-212.