View source for Astronomy:Asteroid mining

{{short description|Exploitation of raw materials from asteroids}}
 [[File:Inner_solar_system_objects_top_view_for_wiki.png|thumb|300px|Overview of the Inner Solar System asteroids up to the Jovian System]] '''Asteroid mining''' is the hypothetical extraction of materials from [[Astronomy:Asteroid|asteroid]]s and other [[Astronomy:Minor planet|minor planet]]s, including [[Astronomy:Near-Earth object|near-Earth object]]s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=O'Leary|first=B.|date=1977-07-22|title=Mining the Apollo and Amor Asteroids|journal=Science|language=en|volume=197|issue=4301|pages=363–366|doi=10.1126/science.197.4301.363|pmid=17797965|bibcode=1977Sci...197..363O|s2cid=45597532|issn=0036-8075}}</ref>

Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of [[Engineering:Spaceflight|spaceflight]], unreliable identification of asteroids which are suitable for mining, and the challenges of extracting usable material in a space environment.

Asteroid [[Astronomy:Sample-return mission|sample return]] research missions, such as ''[[Astronomy:Hayabusa|Hayabusa]]'', ''[[Astronomy:Hayabusa2|Hayabusa2]]'', and ''[[Astronomy:OSIRIS-REx|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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=The tale of 2 asteroid sample-return missions|url=https://cen.acs.org/physical-chemistry/astrochemistry/tale-2-asteroid-sample-return/96/i39|access-date=2021-05-30|website=cen.acs.org|archive-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214831/https://cen.acs.org/physical-chemistry/astrochemistry/tale-2-asteroid-sample-return/96/i39|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 ($300 million ''Hayabusa'', $800 million ''Hayabusa2'', $1.16 billion ''OSIRIS-REx'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cost of OSIRIS-REx|url=https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/cost-of-osiris-rex|access-date=2021-05-31|website=The Planetary Society|language=en|archive-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602213240/https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/cost-of-osiris-rex|url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=How the asteroid-mining bubble burst|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/06/26/134510/asteroid-mining-bubble-burst-history/|access-date=2021-05-31|website=MIT Technology Review|language=en|archive-date=2021-04-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416080947/https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/06/26/134510/asteroid-mining-bubble-burst-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 have evolved over the decades.

== History ==

=== Prior to 1970 ===
Before 1970, asteroid mining existed largely within the realm of science fiction. Stories such as ''Worlds of If'',<ref>{{Citation |title=14. Google Books |date=2019-12-31 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4159/9780674243286-015 |work=United States v. Apple |pages=164–170 |publisher=Harvard University Press |doi=10.4159/9780674243286-015 |isbn=9780674243286 |s2cid=242411308 |access-date=2022-04-26}}</ref> ''Scavengers in Space'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nourse |first=Alan E. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/55200836 |title=Scavengers in space |date=1959 |publisher=David McKay Co |oclc=55200836}}</ref> and ''Miners in the Sky''<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leinster |first=Murray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRyoOgAACAAJ |title=Miners in the Sky |date=1967 |publisher=Avon Books |isbn=978-0-7221-5482-3 |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Novak |first=Matt |title=Asteroid mining's peculiar past |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20130129-asteroid-minings-peculiar-past |access-date=2022-05-08 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en}}</ref>

=== The 1970s ===
The 1969<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-07-20 |title=July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind - NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/history/july-20-1969-one-giant-leap-for-mankind/ |access-date=2024-01-03 |language=en-US}}</ref> 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 [[Astronomy:Asteroid mining|asteroid mining]]. A good deal of serious academic consideration was aimed at mining asteroids located closer to Earth than the main asteroid belt. In particular, the asteroid groups [[Astronomy:Apollo asteroid|Apollo]] and [[Astronomy:Amor asteroid|Amor]] were considered.<ref name="O'Leary 363–366">{{Cite journal |last=O'Leary |first=Brian |date=1977-07-22 |title=Mining the Apollo and Amor Asteroids |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.197.4301.363 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=197 |issue=4301 |pages=363–366 |doi=10.1126/science.197.4301.363 |pmid=17797966 |s2cid=37982824 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref> These groups were chosen not only because of their proximity to Earth but also because many at the time thought they were rich in raw materials that could be refined.<ref name="O'Leary 363–366"/>

Despite the wave of interest, many in the space science community were aware of how little was known about asteroids and encouraged a more gradual and systematic approach to asteroid mining.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fanale |first=F. P. |date=1978-01-01 |title=Science rationale for an initial asteroid-dedicated mission |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19780021076 |journal=NASA, Washington Asteroids |volume=2053 |page=193 |bibcode=1978NASCP2053..193F |language=en}}</ref>

=== The 1980s ===
Academic interest in asteroid mining continued into the 1980s. The idea of targeting the Apollo and Amor asteroid groups still had some popularity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1981-03-01 |title=The utilization of nonterrestrial materials |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19810014566 |language=en}}</ref> However, by the late 1980s the interest in the Apollo and Amor asteroid groups is being replaced with interest in the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0094-5765%2888%2990059-8 | doi=10.1016/0094-5765(88)90059-8 | title=Asteroid mining and the moons of Mars | year=1988 | last1=O'Leary | first1=Brian | journal=Acta Astronautica | volume=17 | issue=4 | pages=457–462 | bibcode=1988AcAau..17..457O }}</ref>

Organizations like NASA begin to formulate ideas of how to process materials in space<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Leonard |first1=Raymond S. |last2=Johnson |first2=Stewart W. |date=1988-01-01 |title=Power requirements for mining and microwave processing of extraterrestrial resources |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19880015005 |journal=New Mexico Univ., Transactions of the Fifth Symposium on Space Nuclear Power Systems |page=71 |bibcode=1988snps.symp...71L |language=en}}</ref> and what to do with the materials that are hypothetically gathered from space.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1982-11-01 |title=Nonterrestrial utilization of materials: Automated space manufacturing facility |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19830007080 |journal=Advan. Automation for Space Missions |page=77 |bibcode=1982aasm.nasa...77. |language=en}}</ref>

=== The 1990s ===

{{Multiple image
| total_width       = 250
| align             = right
| direction         = vertical
| width             = 
| image1            = Hayabusa2_Ion_thruster.jpg
| image2            = .Animation of Hayabusa2 orbit.gif
| image3            = Movie before and after touchdown on Ryugu taken with Hayabusa2's small monitor camera (CAM-H).webm
| footer            = [[Astronomy:Hayabusa2|Hayabusa2]] asteroid sample-return mission (3 December 2014 - 5 December 2020)
}}

New reasons emerge for pursuing asteroid mining. These reasons tend to revolve around environmental concerns, such as fears over humans over-consuming the Earth's natural resources<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Radovich |first1=Brian M. |last2=Carlson |first2=Alan E. |last3=Date |first3=Medha D. |last4=Duarte |first4=Manny G. |last5=Erian |first5=Neil F. |last6=Gafka |first6=George K. |last7=Kappler |first7=Peter H. |last8=Patano |first8=Scott J. |last9=Perez |first9=Martin |last10=Ponce |first10=Edgar |date=1992-01-01 |title=Asteroid exploration and utilization |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19940021204 |journal=USRA, Proceedings of the 8th Annual Summer Conference: NASA(USRA Advanced Design Program |language=en}}</ref> and trying to capture energy from the Sun in space.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Creola |first=Peter |date=1996-08-01 |title=Space and the fate of humanity |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0265-9646%2896%2900018-5 |journal=Space Policy |language=en |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=193–201 |doi=10.1016/0265-9646(96)00018-5 |bibcode=1996SpPol..12..193C |issn=0265-9646}}</ref>

In the same decade, NASA is trying to establish what materials in asteroids could be valuable for extraction. These materials include free-metals, volatiles, and bulk dirt.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=John S. |date=1992-01-01 |title=Asteroid resources |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19930007691 |journal=NASA. Johnson Space Center, Space Resources. Volume 3: Materials |language=en}}</ref>

== Minerals in space ==

As resource depletion on Earth becomes more real, the idea of extracting valuable elements from asteroids and returning these to [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]] for profit, or using space-based resources to build [[Physics:Space-based solar power|solar-power satellites]] and space habitats,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/spaceres/IV-2.html | title=Retrieval of Asteroidal Materials | publisher=NASA | website=SPACE RESOURCES and SPACE SETTLEMENTS,1977 Summer Study at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California | year=1979 | author1=BRIAN O'LEARY | author2=MICHAEL J. GAFFEY | author3=DAVID J. ROSS | author4=ROBERT SALKELD | name-list-style=amp | access-date=2011-09-29 | archive-date=2019-05-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190524014201/https://settlement.arc.nasa.gov/spaceres/IV-2.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Valentine">{{cite web | url=http://ssi.org/reading/papers/space-studies-institute-roadmap/ | title=A Space Roadmap: Mine the Sky, Defend the Earth, Settle the Universe | publisher=[[Organization:Space Studies Institute|Space Studies Institute]] | year=2002 | access-date=September 19, 2011 | author=Lee Valentine | archive-date=August 7, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807051056/http://ssi.org/reading/papers/space-studies-institute-roadmap/ | url-status=live }}</ref> becomes more attractive.  Hypothetically, water processed from ice could refuel orbiting [[Chemistry:Propellant depot|propellant depot]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | title=A captured asteroid : Our David's stone for shielding earth and providing the cheapest extraterrestrial material | year=2006 |author1=Didier Massonnet |author2=Benoît Meyssignac | doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2006.02.030 | volume=59 | issue=1–5 | journal=Acta Astronautica | pages=77–83|bibcode = 2006AcAau..59...77M }}</ref><ref name=MTS1997 /><ref name="Kiss">{{cite web |url=http://kiss.caltech.edu/study/asteroid/asteroid_final_report.pdf |title=Asteroid Retrieval Feasibility Study |publisher=Keck Institute for Space Studies, California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory |date=12 April 2012 |author1=John Brophy |author2=Fred Culick |author3=Louis Friedman |display-authors=0 |access-date=19 April 2012 |archive-date=31 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531053431/http://www.kiss.caltech.edu/study/asteroid/asteroid_final_report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Although asteroids and [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]] accreted from the same starting materials, Earth's relatively stronger gravity pulled all heavy siderophilic (iron-loving) elements into its core during its molten youth more than four billion years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |author=[[Organization:University of Toronto|University of Toronto]] |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091018141608.htm |title=Geologists Point To Outer Space As Source Of The Earth's Mineral Riches |date=2009-10-19 |website=ScienceDaily |access-date=2018-03-09 |archive-date=2019-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216172417/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091018141608.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Brenan |first1=James M. |last2=McDonough |first2=William F. |year=2009 |title=Core formation and metal–silicate fractionation of osmium and iridium from gold |url=http://www.geology.utoronto.ca/Members/brenan/Brenan%20and%20McDonough,%202009.pdf |journal=Nature Geoscience |volume=2 |issue= 11|pages=798–801 |doi=10.1038/ngeo658 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706211417/http://www.geology.utoronto.ca/Members/brenan/Brenan%20and%20McDonough%2C%202009.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-06 |bibcode=2009NatGe...2..798B }}</ref><ref name=Matt>{{cite journal | last1 = Willbold | first1 = Matthias | last2 = Elliott | first2 = Tim | last3 = Moorbath | first3 = Stephen | year = 2011 | title = The tungsten isotopic composition of the Earth's mantle before the terminal bombardment | journal = Nature | volume = 477 | issue = 7363| pages = 195–198 | doi = 10.1038/nature10399 |bibcode = 2011Natur.477..195W | pmid=21901010| s2cid = 4419046 }}</ref> This left the crust depleted of such valuable elements until a rain of asteroid impacts re-infused the depleted crust with metals like [[Chemistry:Gold|gold]], [[Chemistry:Cobalt|cobalt]], [[Chemistry:Iron|iron]], [[Chemistry:Manganese|manganese]], [[Chemistry:Molybdenum|molybdenum]], [[Chemistry:Nickel|nickel]], [[Chemistry:Osmium|osmium]], [[Chemistry:Palladium|palladium]], [[Chemistry:Platinum|platinum]], [[Chemistry:Rhenium|rhenium]], [[Chemistry:Rhodium|rhodium]], [[Chemistry:Ruthenium|ruthenium]] and [[Chemistry:Tungsten|tungsten]] (some flow from core to surface does occur, e.g. at the [[Earth:Bushveld Igneous Complex|Bushveld Igneous Complex]], a famously rich source of [[Earth:Platinum group|platinum-group]] metals).{{Citation needed|date=April 2018}} Today, these metals are mined from Earth's crust, and they are essential for economic and technological progress. Hence, the geologic history of Earth may very well set the stage for a future of asteroid mining.

In 2006, the Keck Observatory announced that the binary [[Astronomy:Jupiter trojan|Jupiter trojan]] [[Astronomy:617 Patroclus|617 Patroclus]],<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Marchis | first1 = F. | display-authors = etal   | title = A low density of 0.8 g cm<sup>−3</sup> for the Trojan binary asteroid 617 Patroclus | journal = Nature | volume = 439 | issue = 7076| pages = 565–567 | doi=10.1038/nature04350|arxiv = astro-ph/0602033 |bibcode = 2006Natur.439..565M | pmid=16452974 | year=2006| s2cid = 4416425 }}</ref> and possibly large numbers of other Jupiter trojans, are likely [[Astronomy:Extinct comet|extinct comet]]s and consist largely of water ice. Similarly, Jupiter-family comets, and possibly [[Astronomy:Near-Earth asteroid|near-Earth asteroid]]s that are extinct comets, might also provide water. The process of in-situ resource utilization—using materials native to space for propellant, thermal management, tankage, radiation shielding, and other high-mass components of space infrastructure—could lead to radical reductions in its cost.<ref name="April 2012">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17827347|title=Plans for asteroid mining emerge|date=24 April 2012|work=BBC News|access-date=2012-04-24|archive-date=2019-12-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231115826/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17827347|url-status=live}}</ref>  Although whether these cost reductions could be achieved, and if achieved would offset the enormous infrastructure investment required, is unknown.

From the [[Astronomy:Astrobiology|astrobiological]] perspective, asteroid prospecting could provide scientific data for the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). Some astrophysicists have suggested that if advanced extraterrestrial civilizations employed asteroid mining long ago, the hallmarks of these activities might be detectable.<ref>{{Cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408062400/http://smithsonianscience.org/2011/04/evidence-of-asteroid-mining-in-our-galaxy-may-lead-to-the-discovery-of-extraterrestrial-civilizations/|url=http://smithsonianscience.org/2011/04/evidence-of-asteroid-mining-in-our-galaxy-may-lead-to-the-discovery-of-extraterrestrial-civilizations/|url-status=live|title=Evidence of asteroid mining in our galaxy may lead to the discovery of extraterrestrial civilizations|website=Smithsonian Science|date=2011-04-05|archive-date=2011-04-08|publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2011/03/29/asteroid-mining-a-marker-for-seti/|title=Asteroid Mining: A Marker for SETI?|last=Gilster|first=Paul|date=2011-03-29|website=www.centauri-dreams.org|access-date=2019-12-26|archive-date=2019-12-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226113900/https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2011/03/29/asteroid-mining-a-marker-for-seti/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |arxiv = 1103.5369|last1 = Marchis|first1 = Franck|title = Extrasolar Asteroid Mining as Forensic Evidence for Extraterrestrial Intelligence|journal = International Journal of Astrobiology|volume = 10|issue = 4|pages = 307–313|last2 = Hestroffer|first2 = Daniel|last3 = Descamps|first3 = Pascal|last4 = Berthier|first4 = Jerome|last5 = Bouchez|first5 = Antonin H|last6 = Campbell|first6 = Randall D|last7 = Chin|first7 = Jason C. Y|last8 = van Dam|first8 = Marcos A|last9 = Hartman|first9 = Scott K|last10 = Johansson|first10 = Erik M|last11 = Lafon|first11 = Robert E|author12 = David Le Mignant|author13 = Imke de Pater|last14 = Stomski|first14 = Paul J|last15 = Summers|first15 = Doug M|last16 = Vachier|first16 = Frederic|last17 = Wizinovich|first17 = Peter L|last18 = Wong|first18 = Michael H|year = 2011|doi = 10.1017/S1473550411000127|bibcode = 2011IJAsB..10..307F|s2cid = 119111392}}</ref>

{|
|-
!Mission
!Δ<var>v</var>
|-
|Earth surface to [[Astronomy:Low Earth orbit|LEO]]
|8.0&nbsp;km/s
|-
|LEO to near-Earth asteroid
|5.5&nbsp;km/s<ref group=note>This is the average amount; asteroids with much lower delta-v exist.</ref>
|-
|LEO to [[Astronomy:Moon|lunar]] surface
|6.3&nbsp;km/s
|-
|LEO to moons of [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]]
|8.0&nbsp;km/s
|}

An important factor to consider in target selection is orbital economics, in particular the change in velocity ([[Astronomy:Delta-v|Δ<var>v</var>]]) and travel time to and from the target. More of the extracted native material must be expended as [[Physics:Propellant|propellant]] in higher Δ<var>v</var> trajectories, thus less returned as payload. [[Astronomy:Hohmann transfer orbit|Direct Hohmann trajectories]] are faster than Hohmann trajectories assisted by planetary and/or lunar flybys, which in turn are faster than those of the [[Interplanetary Transport Network]], but the reduction in transfer time comes at the cost of increased Δ<var>v</var> requirements.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

The Easily Recoverable Object (ERO) subclass of [[Astronomy:Near-Earth asteroid|Near-Earth asteroid]]s are considered likely candidates for early mining activity. Their low Δ<var>v</var> makes them suitable for use in extracting construction materials for near-Earth space-based facilities, greatly reducing the economic cost of transporting supplies into Earth orbit.<ref name=te20130416>{{cite news |last=Harris |first=Stephen |title=Your questions answered: asteroid mining |url=http://www.theengineer.co.uk/aerospace/in-depth/your-questions-answered-asteroid-mining/1015966.article |access-date=2013-04-16 |newspaper=The Engineer |date=2013-04-16 |archive-date=2015-09-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906073433/http://www.theengineer.co.uk/aerospace/in-depth/your-questions-answered-asteroid-mining/1015966.article |url-status=live }}</ref>

The table above shows a comparison of Δ<var>v</var> requirements for various missions. In terms of propulsion energy requirements, a mission to a near-Earth asteroid compares favorably to alternative mining missions.

An example of a potential target<ref>{{cite report|url=https://space.nss.org/media/Near-Earth-Asteroid-Mining-Ross-2001.pdf|last=Ross|first=Shane D.|date=2001-12-14|title=Near-Earth asteroid mining|publisher=[[Organization:California Institute of Technology|California Institute of Technology]]|access-date=2019-12-26|archive-date=2018-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012144829/http://space.nss.org/media/Near-Earth-Asteroid-Mining-Ross-2001.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> for an early asteroid mining expedition is [[Astronomy:4660 Nereus|4660 Nereus]], expected to be mainly [[Chemistry:Enstatite|enstatite]]. This body has a very low Δ<var>v</var> compared to lifting materials from the surface of the Moon. However, it would require a much longer round-trip to return the material.

Multiple types of asteroids have been identified but the three main types would include the C-type, S-type, and M-type asteroids:

# [[Astronomy:C-type asteroid|C-type asteroid]]s have a high abundance of water which is not currently of use for mining but could be used in an exploration effort beyond the asteroid. Mission costs could be reduced by using the available water from the asteroid. C-type asteroids also have high amounts of organic [[Chemistry:Carbon|carbon]], [[Chemistry:Phosphorus|phosphorus]], and other key ingredients for [[Chemistry:Fertilizer|fertilizer]] which could be used to grow food.<ref name="astronomysource.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.astronomysource.com/tag/m-type-asteroids/|title=M-Type Asteroids – Astronomy Source|website=astronomysource.com|date=21 August 2012|access-date=17 December 2013|archive-date=23 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123200342/http://www.astronomysource.com/tag/m-type-asteroids/|url-status=live}}</ref>
# [[Astronomy:S-type asteroid|S-type asteroid]]s carry little water but are more attractive because they contain numerous metals, including nickel, cobalt, and more valuable metals, such as gold, platinum, and rhodium. A small 10-meter S-type asteroid contains about {{convert|1433000|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} of metal with {{convert|110|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} in the form of rare metals like platinum and gold.<ref name="astronomysource.com"/>
# [[Astronomy:M-type asteroid|M-type asteroid]]s are rare but contain up to 10 times more metal than S-types.<ref name="astronomysource.com"/>

A class of ''easily retrievable objects'' (EROs) was identified by a group of researchers in 2013. Twelve asteroids made up the initially identified group, all of which could be potentially mined with present-day rocket technology. Of 9,000 asteroids searched in the [[Astronomy:Near-Earth object|NEO]] database, these twelve could all be brought into an Earth-accessible orbit by changing their velocity by less than {{convert|500|m/s|km/h mph|sp=us}}. The dozen asteroids range in size from {{convert|2| to |20|m|ft|-1|sp=us}}.<ref name=ibt20120813>{{cite news |last=Mohan |first=Keerthi |title=New Class of Easily Retrievable Asteroids That Could Be Captured With Rocket Technology Found |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/new-class-easily-retrievable-asteroids-could-be-captured-rocket-technology-found-1382529 |access-date=2012-08-15 |newspaper=International Business Times |date=2012-08-13 |archive-date=2018-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106192959/https://www.ibtimes.com/new-class-easily-retrievable-asteroids-could-be-captured-rocket-technology-found-1382529 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Asteroid cataloging ===
{{Main|Organization:B612 Foundation}}

The [[Organization:B612 Foundation|B612 Foundation]] is a private [[Engineering:Nonprofit organization|nonprofit]] foundation with headquarters in the United States, dedicated to protecting Earth from [[Astronomy:Impact event|asteroid strikes]]. As a [[Social:Non-governmental organization|non-governmental organization]] it has conducted two lines of related research to help detect asteroids that could one day strike Earth, and find the technological means to divert their path to avoid such collisions.

The foundation's 2013 goal was to design and build a privately financed asteroid-finding space telescope, Sentinel, hoping in 2013 to launch it in 2017–2018.  The Sentinel's infrared telescope, once parked in an orbit similar to that of [[Astronomy:Venus|Venus]], is designed to help identify threatening asteroids by cataloging 90% of those with diameters larger than {{convert|140|m}}, as well as surveying smaller Solar System objects.<ref name="Discover-2013.09">{{Cite web|last=Powell|first=Corey S.|date=2013-08-14|url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/developing-early-warning-systems-for-killer-asteroids|title=Developing Early Warning Systems for Killer Asteroids|website=Discover Magazine|access-date=2019-12-26|archive-date=2017-05-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523100712/http://discovermagazine.com/2013/september/17-hunting-season-for-asteroids|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="B612-Sentinel Mission">
  {{cite web
 |title=The Sentinel Mission 
 |publisher=B612 Foundation 
 |url=http://b612foundation.org/media/sentinelmission/ 
 |access-date=September 19, 2012 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120910234035/http://b612foundation.org/media/sentinelmission/ 
 |archive-date=September 10, 2012 
}}</ref><ref name="New York Times-2013.02.16">Broad, William J. [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/science/space/dismissed-as-doomsayers-advocates-for-meteor-detection-feel-vindicated.html?pagewanted=all Vindication for Entrepreneurs Watching Sky: Yes, It Can Fall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210042048/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/science/space/dismissed-as-doomsayers-advocates-for-meteor-detection-feel-vindicated.html?pagewanted=all |date=2020-12-10 }}, ''{{wipe|The New York Times}}'' website, February 16, 2013 and in print on February 17, 2013, p. A1 of the New York edition. Retrieved June 27, 2014.</ref> After [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] terminated their $30 million funding agreement with the B612 Foundation in October 2015<ref name=cancel3>{{Cite web|url=http://spacenews.com/b612-presses-ahead-with-asteroid-mission-despite-setbacks/|title = B612 Presses Ahead with Asteroid Mission Despite Setbacks|date = 20 October 2015}}</ref> and the private fundraising did not achieve its goals, the Foundation eventually opted for an alternative approach using a constellation of much smaller spacecraft which is under study {{asof|2017|06|lc=y}}.<ref name=cancel1>{{Cite web|url=http://spacenews.com/b612-studying-smallsat-missions-to-search-for-near-earth-objects/|title = B612 studying smallsat missions to search for near Earth objects|date = 20 June 2017}}</ref> NASA/[[Organization:Jet Propulsion Laboratory|JPL]]'s [[Astronomy:Near-Earth Object Camera|NEOCam]] has been proposed instead.

== Mining considerations ==

There are four options for mining:<ref name=te20130416/>
# In-space manufacturing (ISM),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/oem/inspacemanufacturing |title=In-Space Manufacturing |date=25 April 2019 |publisher=[[Organization:NASA|NASA]] |access-date=2021-01-17 |archive-date=2020-12-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224013258/https://www.nasa.gov/oem/inspacemanufacturing/ |url-status=live }}</ref> which may be enabled by biomining.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mining rocks in orbit could aid deep space exploration |date=November 10, 2020 |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201110112534.htm |publisher=Science Daily |quote=The first mining experiments conducted in space could pave the way for new technologies to help humans explore and establish settlements on distant worlds, a study suggests. |access-date=January 17, 2021 |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212145429/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201110112534.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
# Bring raw asteroidal material to Earth for use.
# Process it on-site to bring back only processed materials, and perhaps produce propellant for the return trip.
# Transport the asteroid to a safe orbit around the Moon or Earth or to the ISS.<ref name="Kiss"/> This can hypothetically allow for most materials to be used and not wasted.<ref name="Valentine" />

Processing ''in situ'' for the purpose of extracting high-value minerals will reduce the energy requirements for transporting the materials, although the processing facilities must first be transported to the mining site. ''In situ'' mining will involve drilling boreholes and injecting hot fluid/gas and allow the useful material to react or melt with the solvent and extract the solute. Due to the weak gravitational fields of asteroids, any activities, like drilling, will cause large disturbances and form dust clouds. These might be confined by some dome or bubble barrier. Or else some means of rapidly dissipating any dust could be provided for.

Mining operations require special equipment to handle the extraction and processing of ore in outer space.<ref name=te20130416/>
The machinery will need to be anchored to the body,{{Citation needed|date=April 2013}}<!-- some, but not all asteroids; other techniques are also likely per the te20130416 source --> but once in place, the ore can be moved about more readily due to the lack of gravity. However, no techniques for refining ore in zero gravity currently exist. Docking with an asteroid might be performed using a harpoon-like process, where a projectile would penetrate the surface to serve as an anchor; then an attached cable would be used to winch the vehicle to the surface, if the asteroid is both penetrable and rigid enough for a harpoon to be effective.<ref name="Mining Near-Earth Asteroids-National Space Society">{{cite web|last=Durda|first=Daniel|title=Mining Near-Earth Asteroids|url=http://www.nss.org/adastra/volume18/durda.html|website=nss.org|publisher=National Space Society|access-date=17 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170721141759/http://www.nss.org/adastra/volume18/durda.html|archive-date=21 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Due to the distance from Earth to an asteroid selected for mining, the round-trip time for communications will be several minutes or more, except during occasional close approaches to Earth by near-Earth asteroids. Thus any mining equipment will either need to be highly automated, or a human presence will be needed nearby.<ref name=te20130416/> Humans would also be useful for troubleshooting problems and for maintaining the equipment. On the other hand, multi-minute communications delays have not prevented the success of robotic [[Astronomy:Exploration of Mars|exploration of Mars]], and automated systems would be much less expensive to build and deploy.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Crandall W.B.C. | title=Why Space, Recommendations to the Review of United States Human Space Flight Plans Committee | journal=NASA Document Server | year=2009 | url=http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/383154main_53%20-%2020090803.7.toAugustineCommittee-2009-08-03.pdf | display-authors=0 | access-date=2009-11-23 | archive-date=2017-06-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170604230406/https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/383154main_53%20-%2020090803.7.toAugustineCommittee-2009-08-03.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Failed mining projects==

On April 24, 2012, a plan was announced by billionaire entrepreneurs to mine asteroids for their resources. The company was called [[Company:Planetary Resources|Planetary Resources]] and its founders include aerospace entrepreneurs Eric Anderson and [[Biography:Peter Diamandis|Peter Diamandis]]. Advisers included film director and explorer James Cameron and investors included Google's chief executive [[Biography:Larry Page|Larry Page]]. Its executive chairman was Eric Schmidt.<ref name='April 2012'/><ref>{{cite news | author = Brad Lendon | title = Companies plan to mine precious metals in space | date = 24 April 2012 | url = http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/24/companies-plan-to-mine-precious-metals-in-space/?hpt=hp_t3 | work = CNN News | access-date = 2012-04-24 | archive-date = 2012-04-27 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120427095616/http://lightyears.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/24/companies-plan-to-mine-precious-metals-in-space/?hpt=hp_t3 | url-status = live }}</ref> They planned to create a fuel depot in space by 2020 by using water from asteroids, [[Chemistry:Water splitting|splitting it]] to liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen for rocket fuel. From there, it could be shipped to Earth orbit for refueling commercial satellites or spacecraft.<ref name='April 2012'/> In 2020, the company was wound down and all hardware assets were auctioned off.<ref>{{cite web|title=Everything must boldly go! Defunct asteroid mining company's hardware put up for auction|date=4 June 2020|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2020/everything-must-boldly-go-planetary-resources-hardware-auction-heats/|access-date=31 May 2021|archive-date=1 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501114559/https://www.geekwire.com/2020/everything-must-boldly-go-planetary-resources-hardware-auction-heats/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Telescope technology was proposed by [[Company:Planetary Resources|Planetary Resources]] to locate and harvest these asteroids has resulted in the plans for three different types of satellites:
# Arkyd Series 100 (the Leo Space telescope) is a less expensive instrument that will be used to find, analyze, and see what resources are available on nearby asteroids.<ref name="astronomysource.com"/>
# Arkyd Series 200 (the Interceptor) Satellite that would actually land on the asteroid to get a closer analysis of the available resources.<ref name="astronomysource.com"/>
# Arkyd Series 300 (Rendezvous Prospector) Satellite developed for research and finding resources deeper in space.<ref name="astronomysource.com"/>

In 2018, all plans for The Arkyd space telescope technology were abandoned, and [[Company:Planetary Resources|Planetary Resources]] assets were acquired [[Company:ConsenSys|ConsenSys]], a blockchain company with no public space facing goals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.geekwire.com/2020/buying-planetary-resources-consensys-gives-away-science-asteroids-will-sell-rest/|title=After buying Planetary Resources, ConsenSys sets its space ideas free — but will sell off the hardware|date=May 2020}}</ref>

[[Company:Deep Space Industries|Deep Space Industries]], was started in 2013 by David Gump, who had founded other space companies.<ref name="soper-2013">{{cite news | url=http://www.geekwire.com/2013/deep-space-industries-entering-asteroidmining-world-creates-competition-planetary-resources/ | title=Deep Space Industries entering asteroid-mining world, creates competition for Planetary Resources | work=GeekWire: Dispatches from the Digital Frontier | date=January 22, 2013 | agency=GeekWire | access-date=January 22, 2013 | author=Soper, Taylor | archive-date=January 23, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123170658/http://www.geekwire.com/2013/deep-space-industries-entering-asteroidmining-world-creates-competition-planetary-resources/ | url-status=live }}</ref> At the time, the company hoped to begin prospecting for asteroids suitable for mining by 2015 and by 2016 return asteroid samples to Earth.<ref name="dsi-pr-2013">{{cite press release | url=http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/1/prweb10346181.htm | title=Commercial Asteroid Hunters announce plans for new Robotic Exploration Fleet | publisher=Deep Space Industries | date=January 22, 2013 | access-date=January 22, 2013 | archive-date=January 23, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123071849/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/1/prweb10346181.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> Deep Space Industries planned to begin mining by 2023.<ref name="wall-2013">{{cite news | url=http://www.space.com/19368-asteroid-mining-deep-space-industries.html | title=Asteroid-Mining Project Aims for Deep-Space Colonies | work=Space.com | date=January 22, 2013 | agency=TechMediaNetwork | access-date=January 22, 2013 | author=Wall, Mike | archive-date=January 22, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122114837/http://www.space.com/19368-asteroid-mining-deep-space-industries.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Deep Space Industries sold water thrusters,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-04-06 |title=Deep Space Industries to provide Comet satellite propulsion for BlackSky, LeoStella |url=https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Deep_Space_Industries_to_provide_Comet_satellite_propulsion_for_BlackSky_LeoStella_999.html |access-date=2022-06-06 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406130959/https://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Deep_Space_Industries_to_provide_Comet_satellite_propulsion_for_BlackSky_LeoStella_999.html |archive-date=6 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and in 2019 was acquired by Bradford Space, a company focusing on earth orbit systems and space flight components.<ref>{{cite web |title=Deep Space Industries acquired by Bradford Space |url=https://spacenews.com/deep-space-industries-acquired-by-bradford-space/ |website=SpaceNews |date=2 January 2019}}</ref>

==Proposed mining projects==

At ISDC-San Diego 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://isdc.nss.org/2013/speakers-all.shtml|title=Current ISDC 2013 Speakers|website=nss.org|date=August 2018|access-date=2014-02-03|archive-date=2013-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130922060558/http://isdc.nss.org/2013/speakers-all.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> Kepler Energy and Space Engineering (KESE, llc) also announced it was going to mine asteroids, using a simpler, more straightforward approach: KESE plans to use almost exclusively existing guidance, navigation and anchoring technologies from mostly successful missions like the [[Engineering:Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta/Philae]], [[Engineering:Dawn (spacecraft)|Dawn]], and [[Astronomy:Hayabusa|Hayabusa]], and current NASA Technology Transfer tooling to build and send a 4-module Automated Mining System (AMS) to a small asteroid with a simple digging tool to collect ≈40 tons of asteroid regolith and bring each of the four return modules back to [[Astronomy:Low Earth orbit|low Earth orbit]] (LEO) by the end of the decade. Small asteroids are expected to be loose piles of rubble, therefore providing for easy extraction.

In September 2012, the [[Organization:NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts|NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts]] (NIAC) announced the '''Robotic Asteroid Prospector project''', which will examine and evaluate the feasibility of asteroid mining in terms of means, methods, and systems.<ref name=RAP2012>[http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/early_stage_innovation/niac/2012_phase_I_fellows_cohen.html Robotic Asteroid Prospector (RAP) Staged from L-1: Start of the Deep Space Economy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221174032/http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/early_stage_innovation/niac/2012_phase_I_fellows_cohen.html |date=2014-02-21 }} nasa.gov, accessed 2012-09-11</ref>

Technology is being developed by TransAstra Corporation to locate and harvest asteroids with the Apis family of spacecraft, which comprises three classes of flight systems:
# Mini Bee is an experimental technology demonstration vehicle designed to showcase the company's patented approach to asteroid mining using concentrated solar energy known as optical mining<ref name="transastracorp.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.transastracorp.com/apis-spacecraft |title=Apis Flight Systems |publisher=TransAstra Corporation |access-date=2021-06-18 |archive-date=2021-06-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210608084642/https://www.transastracorp.com/apis-spacecraft |url-status=live }}</ref>
# Honey Bee is a mid-sized spacecraft designed to utilize optical mining technology to harvest asteroids up to 10 meters in average diameter<ref name="transastracorp.com"/>
# Queen Bee is the largest spacecraft in the Apis family, an evolution of the Honey Bee that is scaled to enable capture and mining of asteroids up to 40 meters in average diameter<ref name="transastracorp.com"/>

== Economics ==

Currently, the quality of the [[Earth:Ore|ore]] and the consequent cost and mass of equipment required to extract it are unknown and can only be speculated. Some economic analyses indicate that the cost of returning asteroidal materials to Earth far outweighs their market value, and that asteroid mining will not attract private investment at current commodity prices and space transportation costs.<ref>R. Gertsch and L. Gertsch, "[http://www.kemcom.net/EconAnal.pdf Economic analysis tools for mineral projects in space] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224233634/http://www.kemcom.net/EconAnal.pdf |date=2014-12-24 }}", Space Resources Roundtable, 1997.</ref><ref>{{cite news | author = Jeffrey Kluger | title = Can James Cameron — Or Anyone — Really Mine Asteroids? | date = April 25, 2012 | url = http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2112996,00.html?hpt=hp_c3 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120425225303/http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2112996,00.html?hpt=hp_c3 | url-status = dead | archive-date = April 25, 2012 | work = Time Science | access-date = 2012-04-25}}</ref> Other studies suggest large profit by using [[Engineering:Solar power|solar power]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The technical and economic feasibility of mining the near-earth asteroids|doi=10.1016/S0094-5765(98)00087-3|bibcode=1997AcAau..41..637S|volume=41|issue=4–10|pages=637–647|journal=Acta Astronautica|year=1997|last1=Sonter|first1=M.J|url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/2862|access-date=2019-08-02|archive-date=2019-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802054557/https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/2862/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Busch |first1=M. |title=Profitable Asteroid Mining |journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society |date=2004 |volume=57 |pages=301 |bibcode=2004JBIS...57..301B}}</ref> Potential markets for materials can be identified and profit generated if extraction cost is brought down. For example, the delivery of multiple [[Tonne|tonne]]s of water to [[Astronomy:Low Earth orbit|low Earth orbit]] for rocket fuel preparation for [[Astronomy:Space tourism|space tourism]] could generate a significant profit if space tourism itself proves profitable.<ref>{{cite web | last = Sonter | first = Mark | url = http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/mining_economics_and_risk_control_in_the_development_of_near_earth_asteriod_resources.shtml | title = Mining Economics and Risk-Control in the Development of Near-Earth-Asteroid Resources | publisher = Space Future | access-date = 2006-06-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061029015050/http://www.spacefuture.com/archive/mining_economics_and_risk_control_in_the_development_of_near_earth_asteriod_resources.shtml | archive-date = 2006-10-29 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 1997 it was speculated that a relatively small metallic asteroid with a diameter of {{convert|1.6|km|mi|0|abbr=on|sp=us}} contains more than US$20 trillion worth of industrial and precious metals.<ref name=MTS1997>{{cite book | last = Lewis | first = John S. | title = Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets | publisher = Perseus | year = 1997 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=k9hwi3ktye8C | isbn = 978-0-201-32819-6 | access-date = 2016-09-23 | archive-date = 2012-05-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120506025703/http://books.google.com/books?id=k9hwi3ktye8C | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://chview.nova.org/station/ast-mine.htm|title=Asteroid Mining|website=nova.org|access-date=2011-12-04|archive-date=2011-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111213160603/http://chview.nova.org/station/ast-mine.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A comparatively small [[Astronomy:M-type asteroid|M-type asteroid]] with a mean diameter of {{convert|1|km|mi|abbr=on|sp=us}} could contain more than two billion metric tons of [[Chemistry:Iron|iron]]–[[Chemistry:Nickel|nickel]] ore,{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}} or two to three times the world production of 2004.<ref>"[http://www.newmaterials.com/news/833.asp World Produces 1.05 Billion Tonnes of Steel in 2004] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060331081029/http://www.newmaterials.com/news/833.asp |date=March 31, 2006 }}", International Iron and Steel Institute, 2005</ref> The asteroid [[Astronomy:16 Psyche|16 Psyche]] is believed to contain {{val|1.7|e=19|u=kg}} of nickel–iron, which could supply the world production requirement for several million years. A small portion of the extracted material would also be precious metals.

Not all mined materials from asteroids would be cost-effective, especially for the potential return of economic amounts of material to Earth. For potential return to Earth, [[Chemistry:Platinum|platinum]] is considered very rare in terrestrial geologic formations and therefore is potentially worth bringing some quantity for terrestrial use. Nickel, on the other hand, is quite abundant and being mined in many terrestrial locations, so the high cost of asteroid mining may not make it economically viable.<ref name=ibt20150421>{{cite news |last1=Lu |first1=Anne |title=Asteroid Mining Could Be The Next Frontier For Resource Mining |url=https://www.ibtimes.com.au/asteroid-mining-could-be-next-frontier-resource-mining-1441087 |access-date=27 December 2020 |work=International Business Times Australia Edition |date=2015-04-21 |archive-date=2018-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180412201731/http://www.ibtimes.com.au/asteroid-mining-could-be-next-frontier-resource-mining-1441087 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Although [[Company:Planetary Resources|Planetary Resources]] indicated in 2012 that the platinum from a {{convert|30|m|ft|sp=us|adj=mid|-long}} asteroid could be worth US$25–50 billion,<ref name=reuters20120424>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-asteroid-mining-idUSBRE83N06U20120424 | work=Reuters | title=Tech billionaires bankroll gold rush to mine asteroids | date=2012-04-24 | access-date=2021-07-10 | archive-date=2019-06-02 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602205102/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-asteroid-mining-idUSBRE83N06U20120424 | url-status=live }}</ref> an economist remarked any outside source of precious metals could lower prices sufficiently to possibly doom the venture by rapidly increasing the available supply of such metals.<ref name=redorbit201204248>{{cite news |url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112523850/asteroid-mining-venture-could-change-supplydemand-ratio-on-earth/ |title=Asteroid Mining Venture Could Change Supply/Demand Ratio On Earth |first=Peter |last=Suciu |website=RedOrbit |date=2012-04-24 |access-date=2012-04-28 |archive-date=2012-05-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501160644/http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112523850/asteroid-mining-venture-could-change-supplydemand-ratio-on-earth/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Development of an infrastructure for altering asteroid orbits could offer a large [[Finance:Return on investment|return on investment]].<ref name="Hazards">{{citation | first1 = Steven J. | last1 = Ostro | first2 = Carl | last2 = Sagan | contribution = Cosmic Collisions and the Longevity of Non-Spacefaring Galactic Civilizations | title = Interplanetary Collision Hazards | publisher = Jet Propulsion Laboratory – NASA | place = Pasadena, California, USA | year = 1998 | contribution-url = https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/19498/98-0908.pdf | access-date = 2017-04-07 | archive-date = 2017-04-08 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170408081726/https://trs.jpl.nasa.gov/bitstream/handle/2014/19498/98-0908.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref>

=== Scarcity ===
[[Finance:Scarcity|Scarcity]] is a fundamental economic problem of humans having seemingly unlimited wants in a world of limited [[Earth:Resource|resource]]s. Since Earth's resources are finite, the relative abundance of asteroidal ore gives asteroid mining the potential to provide nearly unlimited resources, which would essentially eliminate scarcity for those materials.

The idea of exhausting resources is not new. In 1798, Thomas Malthus wrote, because resources are ultimately limited, the exponential growth in a population would result in falls in income per capita until poverty and starvation would result as a constricting factor on population.<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012">{{Cite book| last=Lee| first=Ricky J.| title=Law and regulation of commercial mining of minerals in outer space| date=2012| publisher=Springer| isbn=978-94-007-2039-8| location=Dordrecht| oclc=780068323| doi=10.1007/978-94-007-2039-8}}</ref> Malthus posited this {{Age |1798|1|1}} years ago, and no sign has yet emerged of the Malthus effect regarding raw materials.
* Proven reserves are deposits of mineral resources that are already discovered and known to be economically extractable under present or similar demand, price and other economic and technological conditions.<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/>
* Conditional reserves are discovered deposits that are not yet economically viable.<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/>
* Indicated reserves are less intensively measured deposits whose data is derived from surveys and geological projections. Hypothetical reserves and speculative resources make up this group of reserves.<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/>
* Inferred reserves are deposits that have been located but not yet exploited.<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/>

Continued development in asteroid mining techniques and technology will help to increase mineral discoveries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.space.com/29323-nasa-manned-mars-exploration-plans.html|title=Roadmap for Manned Missions to Mars Reaching 'Consensus,' NASA Chief Says|date=2015-05-06|last=Howell|first=Elizabeth|website=Space.com|language=en|quote=We really are trying to demonstrate we can develop the technologies and the techniques to help commercial companies, entrepreneurs and others get to asteroids and mine them.|access-date=2020-01-01|archive-date=2019-12-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230204048/https://www.space.com/29323-nasa-manned-mars-exploration-plans.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As the cost of extracting mineral resources, especially platinum group metals, on Earth rises, the cost of extracting the same resources from celestial bodies declines due to technological innovations around space exploration.<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/>

{{asof|2016|09}}, there are 711 known asteroids with a value exceeding {{wipe|United States dollar}}100 trillion.<ref name=asterank20160924><!-- please leave date last accessed encoded in the refname, so that multiple uses of this ref in the article will have explicit clarity as to time context, since the database is frequently updated as of 2016 -->
{{cite web |url=http://www.asterank.com/ |title=Asteroid Database and Mining Rankings – Asterank |last=Webster |first=Ian |website=asterank.com |access-date=24 September 2016 |archive-date=11 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211003418/http://www.asterank.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Financial feasibility ===

Space ventures are high-risk, with long lead times and heavy capital investment, and that is no different for asteroid-mining projects. These types of ventures could be funded through private investment or through government investment. For a commercial venture it can be profitable as long as the revenue earned is greater than total costs (costs for extraction and costs for marketing).<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/> The costs involving an asteroid-mining venture have been estimated to be around US$100 billion in 1996.<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/>

There are six categories of cost considered for an asteroid mining venture:<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/>
# Research and development costs
# Exploration and prospecting costs
# Construction and infrastructure development costs
# Operational and engineering costs
# Environmental costs
# Time cost

Determining financial feasibility is best represented through [[Finance:Net present value|net present value]].<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/> One requirement needed for financial feasibility is a high [[Finance:Return on investment|return on investment]]s estimating around 30%.<ref name="Lee, R. J. 2012"/> Example calculation assumes for simplicity that the only valuable material on asteroids is platinum. On August 16, 2016, platinum was valued at $1157 per [[Ounce|ounce]] or $37,000 per kilogram. At a price of $1,340, for a 10% return on investment, {{convert|5,575,000|ozt|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}} of platinum would have to be extracted for every 1,155,000 tons of asteroid ore. For a 50% return on investment {{convert|54,750,000|ozt|kg|order=flip|abbr=on}} of platinum would have to be extracted for every 11,350,000 tons of asteroid ore. This analysis assumes that doubling the supply of platinum to the market (5.13 million ounces in 2014) would have no effect on the price of platinum. A more realistic assumption is that increasing the supply by this amount would reduce the price 30–50%.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

The financial feasibility of asteroid mining with regards to different technical parameters has been presented by Sonter<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sonter|first=M. J.|date=1997-08-01|title=The technical and economic feasibility of mining the near-earth asteroids|url=https://space.nss.org/media/Mining-Near-Earth-Asteroids-Sonter.pdf|journal=Acta Astronautica|series=Developing Business|volume=41|issue=4|pages=637–647|doi=10.1016/S0094-5765(98)00087-3|bibcode=1997AcAau..41..637S|issn=0094-5765|access-date=2019-12-26|archive-date=2018-07-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723150935/http://space.nss.org/media/Mining-Near-Earth-Asteroids-Sonter.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and more recently by Hein et al.<ref name="arxiv.org">{{Cite journal|last1=Hein|first1=Andreas M.|last2=Matheson|first2=Robert|last3=Fries|first3=Dan|date=2019-05-10|title=A techno-economic analysis of asteroid mining|journal=Acta Astronautica|volume=168|pages=104–115|doi=10.1016/j.actaastro.2019.05.009|issn=0094-5765|arxiv=1810.03836|s2cid=53481045}}</ref>

Hein et al.<ref name="arxiv.org"/> have specifically explored the case where platinum is brought from space to Earth and estimate that economically viable asteroid mining for this specific case would be rather challenging.

Decreases in the price of space access matter.  The start of operational use of the low-cost-per-kilogram-in-orbit [[Engineering:Falcon Heavy|Falcon Heavy]] launch vehicle in 2018 is projected by astronomer Martin Elvis to have increased the extent of economically minable near-Earth asteroids from hundreds to thousands.  With the increased availability of several kilometers per second of [[Astronomy:Delta-v|delta-v]] that Falcon Heavy provides, it increases the number of NEAs accessible from 3 percent to around 45 percent.<ref name=gizmodo20180218>{{cite news |last=Mandelbaum |first=Ryan F. |url=https://gizmodo.com/falcon-heavy-may-have-drastically-increased-the-number-1823116009 |title=Falcon Heavy May Have Drastically Increased the Number of Asteroids We Can Mine |work=Gizmodo |date=2018-02-18 |access-date=2018-02-19 |archive-date=2018-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218231604/https://gizmodo.com/falcon-heavy-may-have-drastically-increased-the-number-1823116009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Precedent for joint investment by multiple parties into a long-term venture to mine commodities may be found in the legal concept of a mining partnership, which exists in the state laws of multiple US states including California.  In a mining partnership, "[Each] member of a mining partnership shares in the profits and losses thereof in the proportion which the interest or share he or she owns in the mine bears to the whole partnership capital or whole number of shares."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=PRC&division=3.5.&title=&part=&chapter=2.&article=|title=Codes Display Text|access-date=2020-06-16|archive-date=2020-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200617003032/https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=PRC&division=3.5.&title=&part=&chapter=2.&article=|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Mining the Asteroid Belt from Mars===
[[Image:InnerSolarSystem-en.png|300px|thumb|The asteroids of the inner Solar System and Jupiter: The belt is located between the orbits of [[Astronomy:Jupiter|Jupiter]] and [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]].
{| style="width:100%;"
|-
| valign=top|
{{legend2|#FFFF00|border=1px solid #B3B300|[[Astronomy:Sun|Sun]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#6ad768|border=1px solid #2B9929|[[Astronomy:Jupiter trojan|Jupiter trojan]]s}}<br />
{{legend-line|#007DD6 solid 2px|[[Physics:Orbit|Orbit]]s of [[Astronomy:Planet|planet]]s}}
| valign=top|
{{legend2|#e9e9e9|border=1px solid #999999|[[Astronomy:Asteroid belt|Asteroid belt]]}}<br />
{{legend2|#d39300|border=1px solid #855D00|Hilda asteroids {{small|(Hildas)}}}}<br />
{{legend2|#c90000|border=1px solid #940000|[[Astronomy:Near-Earth object|Near-Earth object]]s {{small|(selection)}}}}
|}
]]
[[File:Main Asteroid Belt Asteroids.jpg|thumb|300px|Main Asteroid Belt 42 largest asteroids
{{legend-line|#14A80F solid 3px|[[Astronomy:Amor asteroid|Amor asteroid belt]]}}
{{legend-line|#CC0000 solid 3px|[[Astronomy:Apollo asteroid|Apollo asteroid belt]]}}
{{legend-line|#F8DC2C solid 3px|[[Astronomy:Aten asteroid|Aten asteroid belt]]}}
Since [[Astronomy:Mars|Mars]] is much closer to the [[Astronomy:Asteroid belt|Asteroid belt]] than [[Astronomy:Earth|Earth]] is, it would take less [[Astronomy:Delta-v|Delta-v]] to get to the Asteroid belt and return [[Earth:Mineral|minerals]] to Mars.  One hypothesis is that the [[Astronomy:Moons of Mars#Origin|origin]] of the [[Astronomy:Moons of Mars|Moons of Mars]] ([[Astronomy:Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] and [[Astronomy:Deimos (moon)|Deimos]]) are actually [[Astronomy:Asteroid capture|Asteroid capture]]s from the Asteroid belt.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.space.com/24285-mars-moon-phobos-captured-asteroid.html | title=Potato-Shaped Mars Moon Phobos May be a Captured Asteroid | website=Space.com | date=15 January 2014 }}</ref> [[Astronomy:16 Psyche|16 Psyche]] in the main belt could have over $10,000 [[Names of large numbers|Quadrillion]] {{wipe|United States dollar}} worth of minerals.  [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] is planning a mission for October 10, 2023 for the [[Engineering:Psyche (spacecraft)|Psyche orbiter]] to launch and get to the asteroid by August 2029 to study.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-continues-psyche-asteroid-mission | title=NASA Continues Psyche Asteroid Mission | website=[[Organization:Jet Propulsion Laboratory|Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] |date=October 28, 2022}}</ref> [[Astronomy:511 Davida|511 Davida]] could have $27 quadrillion worth of minerals and resources.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.universetoday.com/156335/could-we-use-mars-as-a-base-for-asteroid-mining/ | title=Could We Use Mars as a Base for Asteroid Mining? | date=21 June 2022 }}</ref> Using the moon [[Astronomy:Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] to launch spacecraft is energetically favorable and a useful location from which to dispatch missions to main belt asteroids.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1016/j.pss.2022.105450 | title=Phobos and Mars orbit as a base for asteroid exploration and mining | year=2022 | last1=Taylor | first1=Anthony J. | last2=McDowell | first2=Jonathan C. | last3=Elvis | first3=Martin | journal=Planetary and Space Science | volume=214 | page=105450 | bibcode=2022P&SS..21405450T | s2cid=247275237 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Mining the asteroid belt from Mars and its moons could help in the [[Astronomy:Colonization of Mars|Colonization of Mars]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2021/10/19/the-age-of-space-mining-just-got-closer-as-scientists-discover-two-asteroids-whose-precious-metals-would-exceed-global-reserves/?sh=6525e439713b | title=Space Mining: Scientists Discover Two Asteroids Whose Precious Metals Would Exceed Global Reserves | website={{wipe|Forbes}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2020/10/26/hubble-views-massive-asteroid-called-psyche-that-could-worth-more-than-our-global-economy/?sh=e85d6d9515a5 | title=Hubble Examines Massive Metal Asteroid Called 'Psyche' That's Worth Way More Than Our Global Economy | website={{wipe|Forbes}} }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2019/06/12/nasa-heads-for-psyche-a-giant-mysterious-metallic-asteroid-that-could-be-a-dead-planets-heart/?sh=2a6ef5a665b8 | title=NASA Heads for 'Psyche,' A Mysterious Metallic Asteroid That Could be the Heart of a Dead Planet | website={{wipe|Forbes}} }}</ref>

====Phobos as a space elevator for Mars====

[[Astronomy:Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] is [[Astronomy:Tidal locking|synchronously]] orbiting Mars, where the same face stays facing the planet at ~6,028 [[Kilometre|km]] above the [[Astronomy:Martian surface|Martian surface]].  A [[Astronomy:Space elevator|space elevator]] could extend down from Phobos to Mars 6,000&nbsp;km, about 28 kilometers from the surface, and just out of the [[Astronomy:Atmosphere of Mars|atmosphere of Mars]]. A similar space elevator cable could extend out 6,000&nbsp;km the opposite direction that would counterbalance Phobos.  In total the space elevator would extend out over 12,000&nbsp;km which would be below [[Astronomy:Areostationary orbit|Areostationary orbit]] of Mars (17,032&nbsp;km). A rocket launch would still be needed to get the rocket and cargo to the beginning of the space elevator 28&nbsp;km above the surface.  The surface of Mars is rotating at 0.25 km/s at the equator and the bottom of the space elevator would be rotating around Mars at 0.77&nbsp;km/s, so only 0.52&nbsp;km/s of [[Astronomy:Delta-v|Delta-v]] would be needed to get to the space elevator. Phobos orbits at 2.15&nbsp;km/s and the outer most part of the space elevator would rotate around Mars at 3.52&nbsp;km/s.<ref>{{cite report|url=https://space.nss.org/wp-content/uploads/2003-Space-Colonization-Using-Space-Elevators-From-Phobos.pdf|title=Space Colonization Using Space-Elevators from Phobos|first=Leonard M. |last=Weinstein|publisher=NASA|access-date=December 20, 2022}}</ref>
[[File:Space elevator Phobos.jpg|thumb|300px|center|[[Astronomy:Space elevator|Space elevator]] Phobos]]
[[File:Earth vs Mars gravity at elevation.webp|thumb|center|300px|[[Physics:Gravity of Earth|Earth]] vs Mars vs Moon gravity at [[Elevation|elevation]]]]

== Regulation and safety ==
Space law involves a specific set of [[Finance:International law|international treaties]], along with national statutory laws. The system and framework for international and domestic laws have emerged in part through the [[Organization:United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs|United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/index.html|title=Space Law|publisher=[[Organization:United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs|United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs]]|access-date=24 September 2016|archive-date=13 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913113622/http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The rules, terms and agreements that space law authorities consider to be part of the active body of international space law are the five international space treaties and five UN declarations. Approximately 100 nations and institutions were involved in negotiations.  The space treaties cover many major issues such as arms control, non-appropriation of space, freedom of exploration, liability for damages, safety and rescue of astronauts and spacecraft, prevention of harmful interference with space activities and the environment, notification and registration of space activities, and the settlement of disputes. In exchange for assurances from the space power, the nonspacefaring nations acquiesced to U.S. and Soviet proposals to treat outer space as a commons (res communis) territory which belonged to no one state.

Asteroid mining in particular is covered by both international treaties—for example, the [[Engineering:Outer Space Treaty|Outer Space Treaty]]—and national statutory laws—for example, specific legislative acts in the United States<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12019740/Who-owns-space-Asteroid-mining-made-legal-in-US-after-passing-of-2015-space-bill.html Asteroid mining made legal after passing of ‘historic’ space bill in US] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219210724/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12019740/Who-owns-space-Asteroid-mining-made-legal-in-US-after-passing-of-2015-space-bill.html |date=2018-02-19 }}, telegraph.co.uk, accessed 19 Feb 2018.</ref> and Luxembourg.<ref name=sn20160206>{{cite news |last=de Selding|first=Peter B. |url=http://spacenews.com/luxembourg-to-invest-in-space-based-asteroid-mining/ |title=Luxembourg to invest in space-based asteroid mining|work=SpaceNews |date=2016-02-03 |access-date=2018-02-19|quote=The Luxembourg government on Feb. 3 announced it would seek to jump-start an industrial sector to mine asteroid resources in space by creating regulatory and financial incentives. }}</ref>

Varying degrees of criticism exist regarding international space law. Some critics accept the Outer Space Treaty, but reject the Moon Agreement. The Outer Space Treaty allows private property rights for outer space natural resources once removed from the surface, subsurface or subsoil of the Moon and other celestial bodies in outer space.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}} Thus, international space law is capable of managing newly emerging space mining activities, private space transportation, commercial spaceports and commercial space stations/habitats/settlements. Space mining involving the extraction and removal of natural resources from their natural location is allowable under the Outer Space Treaty.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Once removed, those natural resources can be reduced to possession, sold,{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} traded and explored or used for scientific purposes. International space law allows space mining, specifically the extraction of natural resources. It is generally understood within the space law authorities that extracting space resources is allowable, even by private companies for profit.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} However, international space law prohibits property rights over territories and outer space land.

Astrophysicists [[Biography:Carl Sagan|Carl Sagan]] and Steven J. Ostro raised the concern [[Astronomy:Asteroid impact avoidance#Deflection technology concerns|altering the trajectories of asteroids]] near Earth might pose a collision hazard threat. They concluded that orbit engineering has both opportunities and dangers: if controls instituted on orbit-manipulation technology were too tight, future spacefaring could be hampered, but if they were too loose, human civilization would be at risk.<ref name="Hazards"/><ref name=ostro1998>
{{cite web
 |url=http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc080498.html 
 |title=Cambridge Conference Correspondence 
 |author=Steven Ostro and Carl Sagan 
 |date=1998-08-04 
 |website=uga.edu 
 |access-date=24 September 2016 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193730/http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc080498.html 
 |archive-date=4 March 2016 
}}</ref><ref name=sagan1994>
{{cite journal |title=Dangers of asteroid deflection |volume=368 |issue=6471 |pages=501–2 |journal=Nature |date=1994-04-07 |doi=10.1038/368501a0 |pmid=8139682 |bibcode=1994Natur.368Q.501S |last1=Sagan |first1=Carl |last2=Ostro |first2=Steven J |s2cid=38478106 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== The Outer Space Treaty ===
[[File:Outer Space Treaty parties map colors updated 03012022.svg|thumb|Outer Space Treaty: {{legend|#007daa|Parties}} {{legend|#eeee00|Signatories}} {{legend|#ff1111|Non-parties}}]]
After ten years of negotiations between nearly 100 nations, the Outer Space Treaty opened for signature on January 27, 1966. It entered into force as the constitution for outer space on October 10, 1967.  The Outer Space Treaty was well received; it was ratified by ninety-six nations and signed by an additional twenty-seven states. The outcome has been that the basic foundation of international space law consists of five (arguably four) international space treaties, along with various written resolutions and declarations. The main international treaty is the Outer Space Treaty of 1967; it is generally viewed as the "Constitution" for outer space. By ratifying the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, ninety-eight nations agreed that outer space would belong to the "province of mankind", that all nations would have the freedom to "use" and "explore" outer space, and that both these provisions must be done in a way to "benefit all mankind". The province of mankind principle and the other key terms have not yet been specifically defined (Jasentuliyana, 1992). Critics have complained that the Outer Space Treaty is vague. Yet, international space law has worked well and has served space commercial industries and interests for many decades. The taking away and extraction of Moon rocks, for example, has been treated as being legally permissible.

The framers of Outer Space Treaty initially focused on solidifying broad terms first, with the intent to create more specific legal provisions later (Griffin, 1981: 733–734). This is why the members of the COPUOS later expanded the Outer Space Treaty norms by articulating more specific understandings which are found in the "three supplemental agreements" – the Rescue and Return Agreement of 1968, the Liability Convention of 1973, and the Registration Convention of 1976 (734).

Hobe (2007) explains that the Outer Space Treaty "explicitly and implicitly prohibits only the acquisition of territorial property rights" but extracting space resources is allowable. It is generally understood within the space law authorities that extracting space resources is allowable, even by private companies for profit. However, international space law prohibits property rights over territories and outer space land. Hobe further explains that there is no mention of “the question of the extraction of natural resources which means that such use is allowed under the Outer Space Treaty” (2007: 211). He also points out that there is an unsettled question regarding the division of benefits from outer space resources in accordance with Article, paragraph 1 of the Outer Space Treaty.<ref>Stephan Hobe, “Adequacy of the Current Legal and Regulatory Framework Relating to the Extraction and Appropriation of Natural Resources” McGill Institute of Air & Space Law, Annals of Air and Space Law 32 (2007): 115-130.</ref>

=== The Moon Agreement ===
[[File:Moon Treaty Participation.svg|right|thumb|
Participation in the Moon Treaty
{{legend|#00aa00|Parties}}
{{legend|#ffff00|Signatories}}
{{legend|#ff1111|Non-parties}}
]]
The Moon Agreement was signed on December 18, 1979, as part of the United Nations Charter and it entered into force in 1984 after a five state ratification consensus procedure, agreed upon by the members of the United Nations Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).<ref name=untdb>{{cite web| url=https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXIV-2&chapter=24&clang=_en| title=Agreement governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies| access-date=2014-12-05| publisher={{wipe|United Nations}}| archive-date=2016-10-21| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021140301/https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXIV-2&chapter=24&clang=_en| url-status=live}}</ref>  As of September 2019, only 18 nations have signed or ratified the treaty.<ref name=untdb/> The other three outer space treaties experienced a high level of international cooperation in terms of signage and ratification, but the Moon Treaty went further than them, by defining the Common Heritage concept in more detail and by imposing specific obligations on the parties engaged in the exploration and/or exploitation of outer space. The Moon Treaty explicitly designates the Moon and its natural resources as part of the Common Heritage of Mankind.<ref name='Full_Provisions'>[http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/moon-agreement.html Agreement Governing the Activities of States on the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191118020035/http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/moon-agreement.html |date=2019-11-18 }} - Resolution 34/68 Adopted by the General Assembly. 89th plenary meeting; 5 December 1979.</ref>

The Article 11 establishes that lunar resources are "not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means".<ref name='Schingler 2019'>[https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lunarisru2019/pdf/5124.pdf "Common Pool Lunar Resources."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725221645/https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lunarisru2019/pdf/5124.pdf |date=2020-07-25 }} J. K. Schingler and A. Kapoglou. Lunar ISRU 2019: Developing a New Space Economy Through Lunar Resources and Their Utilization. July 15–17, 2019, Columbia, Maryland.</ref> However, exploitation of resources is suggested to be allowed if it is "governed by an international regime" (Article 11.5), but the rules of such regime have not yet been established.<ref name='Tronchetti_2017'>[http://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/copuos/lsc/2017/symp-01.pdf Current International Legal Framework Applicability to Space Resource Activities.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020113017/http://www.unoosa.org/documents/pdf/copuos/lsc/2017/symp-01.pdf |date=2020-10-20 }} Fabio Tronchetti, IISL/ECSL Space Law Symposium 2017, Vienna 27 March 2017.</ref> S. Neil Hosenball, the NASA General Counsel and chief US negotiator for the Moon Treaty, cautioned in 2018 that negotiation of the rules of the international regime should be delayed until the feasibility of exploitation of lunar resources has been established.<ref>[http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3408/1 Simply fix the Moon Treaty.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191106202837/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/3408/1 |date=2019-11-06 }} Vidvuds Beldavs, ''The Space Review''. 15 January 2018.</ref> 
 
The objection to the treaty by the spacefaring nations is held to be the requirement that extracted resources (and the technology used to that end) must be shared with other nations. The similar regime in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is believed to impede the development of such industries on the seabed.<ref>{{cite web
 | url =http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1954/1
 | title =The Moon Treaty: failed international law or waiting in the shadows?
 | last =Listner
 | first =Michael
 | date =24 October 2011
 | website =The Space Review
 | access-date =14 October 2017
 | archive-date =15 October 2017
 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20171015095208/http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1954/1
 | url-status =live
 }}</ref>

The United States, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) have neither signed, acceded to, nor ratified the Moon Agreement.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.thespacereview.com/article/1954/1 | title=The Space Review: The Moon Treaty: Failed international law or waiting in the shadows? | access-date=2020-04-10 | archive-date=2020-05-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510233600/https://www.thespacereview.com/article/1954/1 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Legal regimes of some countries===

==== Luxembourg ====
In February 2016, the Government of Luxembourg said that it would attempt to "jump-start an industrial sector to mine asteroid resources in space" by, among other things, creating a "legal framework" and regulatory incentives for companies involved in the industry.<ref name=sn20160206/><ref name=abc201602>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-04/space-mining-plans-unveiled-by-luxembourg/7138380 |title=Luxembourg plans to pioneer asteroid mining |work=ABC News |date=2016-02-03 |access-date=2016-02-08 |quote=''The Government said it planned to create a legal framework for exploiting resources beyond Earth's atmosphere, and said it welcomed private investors and other nations.'' |archive-date=2017-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529121536/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-04/space-mining-plans-unveiled-by-luxembourg/7138380 |url-status=live }}</ref>
By June 2016, it announced that it would "invest more than {{USD|200 million}} in research, technology demonstration, and in the direct purchase of equity in companies relocating to Luxembourg".<ref name=sn2060603>{{cite news |last=de Selding|first=Peter B. |url=http://spacenews.com/luxembourg-invests-to-become-the-silicon-valley-of-space-resource-mining/ |title=Luxembourg invests to become the 'Silicon Valley of space resource mining' |work=SpaceNews |date=2016-06-03 |access-date=2016-06-04 }}</ref>
In 2017, it became the "first European country to pass a law conferring to companies the ownership of any resources they extract from space", and remained active in advancing space resource [[Social:Public policy|public policy]] in 2018.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/16/luxembourg-vies-to-become-the-silicon-valley-of-asteroid-mining.html| title=Luxembourg vies to become the Silicon Valley of asteroid mining| website={{wipe|CNBC}}| date=2018-04-16| access-date=2018-04-21| archive-date=2018-04-22| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422062147/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/16/luxembourg-vies-to-become-the-silicon-valley-of-asteroid-mining.html| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://luxembourg.public.lu/en/actualites/2017/07/21-spaceresources/index.html A legal framework for space exploration] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814170224/http://luxembourg.public.lu/en/actualites/2017/07/21-spaceresources/index.html |date=2018-08-14 }}, 13 July 2017.</ref>

In 2017, {{wipe|Japan}}, Portugal, and the UAE entered into cooperation agreements with Luxembourg for mining operations in celestial bodies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orfonline.org/research/if-space-is-the-province-of-mankind-who-owns-its-resources-47561/|title=If space is 'the province of mankind', who owns its resources?|access-date=2020-04-10|archive-date=2020-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510233544/https://www.orfonline.org/research/if-space-is-the-province-of-mankind-who-owns-its-resources-47561/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018, the [[Organization:Luxembourg Space Agency|Luxembourg Space Agency]] was created.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Foust|first=Jeff|date=2018-09-13|title=Luxembourg establishes space agency and new fund|url=https://spacenews.com/luxembourg-establishes-space-agency-and-new-fund/|access-date=2022-01-21|website=SpaceNews|language=en-US}}</ref> It provides private companies and organizations working on asteroid mining with financial support.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Cecilia Jamasmie |title=Luxembourg to set up Europe space mining centre |url=https://www.mining.com/luxembourg-to-create-space-resources-centre/ |website=mining.com |access-date=26 January 2022 |date=18 November 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Michael Hardy |title=Luxembourg's Bold Plan to Mine Asteroids for Rare Minerals |url=https://www.wired.com/story/luxembourg-asteroid-mining/ |website=wired.com |access-date=26 January 2022 |date=29 August 2019}}</ref>

==== United States ====
Some nations are beginning to promulgate legal regimes for extraterrestrial resource extraction.  For example, the United States "SPACE Act of 2015"—facilitating private development of space resources consistent with US international treaty obligations—passed the US House of Representatives in July 2015.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2262 H.R.2262 – SPACE Act of 2015] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119195538/https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2262 |date=2015-11-19 }}, accessed 14 September 2015.</ref><ref name=wp20150522>{{cite news |last1=Fung |first1=Brian |title=The House just passed a bill about space mining. The future is here. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/05/22/the-house-just-passed-a-bill-about-space-mining-the-future-is-here/ |access-date=14 September 2015 |newspaper={{wipe|The Washington Post}} |date=2015-05-22 |archive-date=2015-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122024412/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/05/22/the-house-just-passed-a-bill-about-space-mining-the-future-is-here/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In November 2015 it passed the United States Senate.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/13/congress-claims-space-resource-rights-for-americans-to-exploit-new-frontier American 'space pioneers' deserve asteroid rights, Congress says] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209220459/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/nov/13/congress-claims-space-resource-rights-for-americans-to-exploit-new-frontier |date=2016-12-09 }} theguardian.com</ref> On 25 November U.S. President [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] signed the ''H.R.2262 – U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act'' into law.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12019740/Who-owns-space-Asteroid-mining-made-legal-in-US-after-passing-of-2015-space-bill.html Asteroid mining made legal after passing of ‘historic’ space bill in US] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219210724/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/12019740/Who-owns-space-Asteroid-mining-made-legal-in-US-after-passing-of-2015-space-bill.html |date=2018-02-19 }} telegraph.co.uk</ref> The law recognizes the right of U.S. citizens to own space resources they obtain and encourages the commercial exploration and utilization of resources from asteroids. According to the article § 51303 of the law:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.planetaryresources.com/2015/11/president-obama-signs-bill-recognizing-asteroid-resource-property-rights-into-law/|title=President Obama Signs Bill Recognizing&nbsp;Asteroid Resource Property Rights into Law|website=planetaryresources.com|access-date=24 September 2016|archive-date=26 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126174500/http://www.planetaryresources.com/2015/11/president-obama-signs-bill-recognizing-asteroid-resource-property-rights-into-law/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|text=
A United States citizen engaged in commercial recovery of an asteroid resource or a space resource under this chapter shall be entitled to any asteroid resource or space resource obtained, including to possess, own, transport, use, and sell the asteroid resource or space resource obtained in accordance with applicable law, including the international obligations of the United States}}

On 6 April 2020 U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Executive Order on Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources. According to the Order:<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://spacenews.com/white-house-looks-for-international-support-for-space-resource-rights/ |title = White House looks for international support for space resource rights|date = 7 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-encouraging-international-support-recovery-use-space-resources/ | via=National Archives | work=whitehouse.gov | title=Executive Order on Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources | access-date=2021-02-25 | archive-date=2021-01-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120202042/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-encouraging-international-support-recovery-use-space-resources/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
* Americans should have the right to engage in commercial exploration, recovery, and use of resources in outer space
* the US does not view space as a "global commons"
* the US opposes the Moon Agreement

==Environmental impact==
A positive impact of asteroid mining has been conjectured as being an enabler of transferring industrial activities into space, such as energy generation.<ref name="spaceDevelopmentAndScience">{{cite journal | last=Metzger | first=Philip | title=Space Development and Space Science Together, an Historic Opportunity | journal=Space Policy | volume=37 | issue=2 | pages=77–91 | date= August 2016 | language=en | doi=10.1016/j.spacepol.2016.08.004 | arxiv=1609.00737| bibcode=2016SpPol..37...77M | s2cid=118612272 }}</ref> A quantitative analysis of the potential environmental benefits of water and platinum mining in space has been developed, where potentially large benefits could materialize, depending on the ratio of material mined in space and mass launched into space.<ref>{{Cite conference|last1=Hein|first1=Andreas Makoto|last2=Saidani|first2=Michael|last3=Tollu|first3=Hortense|date=2018|title=Exploring Potential Environmental Benefits of Asteroid Mining|conference=69th International Astronautical Congress 2018|place=Bremen, Germany|arxiv=1810.04749}}</ref>

== Research missions to asteroids and comets ==
=== Proposed or cancelled ===
* Near Earth Asteroid Prospector -  concept for a small commercial spacecraft mission by the private company [[Company:SpaceDev|SpaceDev]],  the project ran into fundraising difficulties and subsequently cancelled.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ridenoure |first1=Rex |title=NEAP: 15 years later |url=http://www.thespacereview.com/article/2315/1 |website=The Space Review |accessdate=3 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news041.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000123030547/http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news041.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=January 23, 2000 | title=SpaceDev Sells Ride to Asteroid | publisher=nasa jpl | date=July 20, 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.astronautix.com/craft/neap.htm | title=NEAP | publisher=[[Encyclopedia Astronautica]] | accessdate=February 11, 2012 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226161244/http://www.astronautix.com/craft/neap.htm | archivedate=February 26, 2012 }}</ref>

=== Ongoing and planned ===
* [[Astronomy:Hayabusa2|Hayabusa2]] – ongoing JAXA asteroid sample return mission (arrived at the target in 2018, returned sample in 2020)
* [[Astronomy:OSIRIS-REx|OSIRIS-REx]] – NASA asteroid sample return mission (launched on September 8, 2016, arrived at target 2020,<ref>{{Cite web |title=In Depth {{!}} OSIRIS-REx |url=https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/osiris-rex/in-depth |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=NASA Solar System Exploration}}</ref> returned sample on September 24, 2023<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shekhtman |first=Lonnie |date=September 24, 2023 |title=OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Departs for New Mission |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/osiris-rex/2023/09/24/osiris-rex-spacecraft-departs-for-new-mission/ |access-date=2023-09-24 |website=Nasa Blogs |language=en}}</ref>)
* Fobos-Grunt 2 – proposed Roskosmos sample return mission to [[Astronomy:Phobos (moon)|Phobos]] (launch in 2024)
* [[Engineering:VIPER (rover)|VIPER rover]] – planned NASA mission to prospect for [[Astronomy:Lunar resources|lunar resources]] in 2024

=== Completed ===
First of successful missions by country:<ref>both asteroid and comet missions are shown</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
! Nation
! Flyby
! Orbit
! Landing
! Sample return
|-
| {{flag|United States}} || [[Astronomy:International Cometary Explorer|ICE]] (1985) || [[Astronomy:NEAR Shoemaker|NEAR]] (1997) || [[Astronomy:NEAR Shoemaker|NEAR]] (2001) || [[Engineering:Stardust (spacecraft)|Stardust]] (2006),  [[Astronomy:OSIRIS-REx|OSIRIS-REx]] (2023)
|-
| {{flag|Japan}} || [[Engineering:Suisei (spacecraft)|Suisei]] (1986)||[[Astronomy:Hayabusa|Hayabusa]] (2005)||[[Astronomy:Hayabusa|Hayabusa]] (2005)||[[Astronomy:Hayabusa|Hayabusa]] (2010)
|-
| {{flag|European Union}} || [[Astronomy:International Cometary Explorer|ICE]] (1985)||[[Engineering:Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta]] (2014)||[[Engineering:Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta]] (2014)||
|-
| {{flag|USSR}} || [[Engineering:Vega 1|Vega 1]] (1986) || || ||
|-
| {{flag|China}} || [[Astronomy:Chang'e 2|Chang'e 2]] (2012) || || ||
|-
|}

== In fiction ==
[[File:Space Engineers 13.jpg|thumb|right|An astronaut mining an asteroid using a hand drill in the video game [[Software:Space Engineers|Space Engineers]].]]

The first mention of asteroid mining in science fiction apparently{{Clarify|reason=Why "apparently"?|date=September 2022}} came in Garrett P. Serviss' story ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'', published in the ''New York Evening Journal'' in 1898.<ref>TechNovelGy timeline, [http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=1930 ''Asteroid Mining''] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120307155718/http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/content.asp?Bnum=1930 |date= March 7, 2012 }}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2022|certain=y|reason=Per http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Technovelgy-FAQ.htm, "Almost everything on the site, from the text articles to the site design, was created by me, Bill Christensen. I don't have any special credentials for writing about science or fiction, but I do enjoy reading fiction and learning more about science and the history of ideas."}}<ref>Garrett P. Serviss, ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' at [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19141/19141-h/19141-h.htm Project Gutenberg] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012010842/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19141/19141-h/19141-h.htm |date=2011-10-12 }}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=November 2022}} Several science-fiction video games include asteroid mining.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Asteroid capture.jpg|Illustration of proposed asteroid capture by [[Organization:Keck Institute for Space Studies|Keck Institute for Space Studies]] made for [[Astronomy:Asteroid Redirect Mission|Asteroid Redirect Mission]]
File:Solar power satellite from an asteroid.jpg|Artist's concept from the 1970s of asteroid mining
File:Asteroid mining vehicule.png|Artist's concept of an asteroid mining vehicle as seen in 1984
File:Tethered asteroid.png|Artist's concept of an asteroid moved by a [[Engineering:Space tether|space tether]]
File:16 Psyche space elevator.webp|[[Astronomy:16 Psyche|16 Psyche]] [[Astronomy:Space elevator|space elevator]] concept <br> The [[Physics:Surface gravity|surface gravity]] is less than 2% of earths at ~{{val|0.144|u=m/s2}}
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Astronomy:Asteroid belt|Asteroid belt]]
* [[Astronomy:Asteroid capture|Asteroid capture]]
* [[Astronomy:Asteroid Redirect Mission|Asteroid Redirect Mission]]
* [[Company:Deep Space Industries|Deep Space Industries]]
* [[Physics:Gravity train|Gravity train / elevator]]
* [[Astronomy:In situ resource utilization|In situ resource utilization]]
* [[Astronomy:Lunar resources|Lunar resources]]
* Mining
* ''Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets''
* [[Astronomy:Near Earth Asteroid Prospector|Near Earth Asteroid Prospector]]
* [[Company:Planetary Resources|Planetary Resources Inc.]]
* TransAstra Corporation
* [[Astronomy:Sample-return mission|Sample-return mission]]
* Space manufacturing
* Space-based economy
* [[Company:SpaceDev|SpaceDev]]
* [[Astronomy:World Is Not Enough (spacecraft propulsion)|World Is Not Enough (spacecraft propulsion)]]
{{Div col end}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|33em}}

===Publications===
* ''Space Enterprise: Beyond NASA'' / David Gump (1990) {{ISBN|0-275-93314-8}}.
* ''Mining the Sky: Untold Riches from the Asteroids, Comets, and Planets'' / [[Biography:John S. Lewis|John S. Lewis]] (1998) {{ISBN|0-201-47959-1}}
* {{Cite book| last=Lee| first=Ricky J.| title=Law and regulation of commercial mining of minerals in outer space| date=2012| publisher=Springer| isbn=978-94-007-2039-8| location=Dordrecht| oclc=780068323| doi=10.1007/978-94-007-2039-8}} <!--2020-01-01: Also referenced inline. Is it needed here also? -->
* Viorel Badescu: ''Asteroids – prospective energy and material resources.'' Springer, Berlin 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-642-39243-6}}.
* Ram Jakhu, et al.: ''Space Mining and Its Regulation.'' Springer, Cham 2016, {{ISBN|978-3-319-39245-5}}.
* Annette Froehlich: ''Space Resource Utilization: A View from an Emerging Space Faring Nation.'' Springer, Cham 2018, {{ISBN|978-3-319-66968-7}}.

==External links==

===Text===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050205082301/http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/publicfeature/aug01/aster.html The Technical and Economic Feasibility of Mining the Near-Earth Asteroids], M. J. Sonter.
* Michael Booth: [https://web.archive.org/web/20120124225451/http://www1.american.edu/TED/spacemin.htm The Future of Space Mining] (December 21, 1995)
* [https://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/asteroid-moving/ The Plan to Bring an Asteroid to Earth]
* [http://www.911metallurgist.com/keep-mining/ How Asteroids can save mankind]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/feb/03/luxembourg-aims-to-be-big-player-in-possible-asteroid-mining Luxembourg aims to be big player in possible asteroid mining], The Guardian, February 2016.
* {{Cite journal|title=The Role of Near-Earth Asteroids in Long-Term Platinum Supply|journal=Space Resources Roundtable II|volume=1|url=http://www.nss.org/settlement/asteroids/RoleOfNearEarthAsteroidsInLongTermPlatinumSupply.pdf|last=Blair|first=Brad R.|year=2000|issue=1070|pages=5|bibcode=2000srrt.conf....5B|access-date=2016-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111212202154/http://www.nss.org/settlement/asteroids/RoleOfNearEarthAsteroidsInLongTermPlatinumSupply.pdf|archive-date=2011-12-12|url-status=dead}}

===Video===
* Video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaqbhjoaIXU Beyond Earth – NEO Destinations]  NewSpace Conference of the [[Organization:Space Frontier Foundation|Space Frontier Foundation]], Aug 7, 2011
* Video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA8OkfxBC4g Moon, Mars, Asteroids – Where to Go First for Resources?] Space manufacturing Conference of the [[Organization:Space Studies Institute|Space Studies Institute]], October 2010
* Video [http://kiss.caltech.edu/lectures/2011_Moving_an_Asteroid.html Moving An Asteroid] California Institute of Technology, Workshop Public Lecture Panel, September 2011
* Video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLouRKHknOU Asteroid Mining – The Market Problem and Radical Solution], November 2013

{{Asteroids}}
{{Solar System}}
{{Inspace}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asteroid Mining}}
[[Category:Mining in space]]

{{Sourceattribution|Asteroid mining}}