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Could asteroids, rocky leftovers from the creation of our solar system. save us from shortages of key resources running out in terrestrial mines here on Earth? Potential targets include 16 Psyche, a potato-shaped metallic lump around 226km in diameter orbiting the Sun in the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars, hundreds of millions of kilometres away.
Nasa is due to launch a probe to the asteroid in October 2023 to explore what could be an exposed building block of planets like Earth, a nickel iron core stripped of its mantle in a collision with another body billions of years ago. Intriguingly, 16 Psyche is also thought to contain gold, platinum, and other precious metals worth up to 75 times the value of the entire global economy.
Designed to scan and observe, the Nasa mission won't be mining any rare metals. But California start AstroForge is among the latest private enterprises aiming to do just that. In April 2023 it sent a small test robot into orbit as a precursor to another planned mission to a real asteroid 35mn km away.
But the stuttering space mining sector is still a long way from harvesting asteroids. At this point the cost would be astronomical. The Moon is another much closer target for rare metals and other materials, like Helium 3, a potential super fuel to generate nuclear energy. But getting there is also expensive.
And experts warn space mining costs might never be recouped as successful missions could result in a surplus and collapse of commodity prices back on Earth. Another problem is the lack of any clear binding unilateral agreements governing the exploitation of resources in space, creating the potential for conflict and inequality.
The long predicted space mining boom is yet to materialise. But some investors and scientists still believe it's only a matter of time.
