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Concept
Asteroid mining
Summary
Asteroid mining is the hypothetical extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects.
Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification of asteroids which are suitable for mining, and the challenges of extracting usable material in a space environment.
Asteroid sample return research missions, such as Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, and in-progress OSIRIS-REx illustrate the challenges of collecting ore from space using current technology. As of 2023, less than 7 grams of asteroid material has been successfully returned to Earth from space. In progress missions promise to increase this amount to approximately 60 grams (two ounces). Asteroid research missions are complex endeavors and return a tiny amount of material (less than 1 milligram Hayabusa, 100 milligrams Hayabusa2, 60 grams planned OSIRIS-REx) relative to the size and expense of these projects (800 million Hayabusa2, $1.16 billion OSIRIS-REx).
After a burst of interest in the 2010s, asteroid mining ambitions have shifted to more distant long-term goals and some 'asteroid mining' companies have pivoted to more general-purpose propulsion technology.
The history of asteroid mining is brief but features a gradual development. Ideas of which asteroids to prospect, how to gather resources, and what to do with those resources evolve over the decades.
Before 1970, asteroid mining existed largely within the realm of science fiction. Stories such as Worlds of If, Scavengers in Space, and Miners in the Sky told stories about the conceived dangers, motives, and experiences of mining asteroids. At the same time, many researchers in academia speculated about the profits that could be gained from asteroid mining, but they lacked the technology to seriously pursue the idea.
The 1969 Moon Landing spurred a wave of scientific interest in human space activity far beyond the Earth's orbit. As the decade continued, more and more academic interest surrounded the topic of asteroid mining.
Official source
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