<p>I will be answering your question using sources I have found online, as well as my own knowledge and insights.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Answer to the first question: There are many signs that suggest an interest in space mining from various countries, as highlighted in this <a href="https://builtin.com/aerospace/top-space-mining-companies" rel="nofollow noreferrer">article</a> However, as of now, NASA has been the most successful in this endeavor. This success can be attributed to the limited knowledge and experimental work conducted in this field. Recently, NASA initiated a mission to retrieve samples from an asteroid estimated to be worth $10,000 quadrillion. One notable example is Planetary Resources, a company initially founded with the goal of mining asteroids. However, in 2018, the company was acquired by ConsenSys, a blockchain technology firm, and shifted its focus to other projects. Another company, Deep Space Industries, also had plans for asteroid mining but faced financial challenges and ceased operations in 2019. Regarding investments, it's worth noting that space mining is a complex and expensive endeavor. While there have been some investments in this field, they may not be as substantial as in other industries due to the high costs and technical challenges involved.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Companies actively pursuing asteroid mining include:</p>
</li>
</ul>
<ol>
<li><p>Karman+: Karman+ is developing technology for mining water from near-Earth asteroids. They have created a model of over 1 million near-Earth asteroids that could potentially be mined in the future.</p>
</li>
<li><p>TransAstra: TransAstra employs a technique called optical mining to extract propellant biomasses from space objects such as asteroids and moons. Their goal is to enable large-scale harvesting of water and materials for rocket propulsion.</p>
</li>
<li><p>AstroForge: AstroForge aims to mine asteroids for minerals with a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional Earth-based mining. They have secured funding for two space missions in 2023, including a demonstration flight and a mission to observe a target asteroid.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Origin Space: Origin Space has developed various technologies for space garbage removal, asteroid mining, and lunar exploration. They have built a robot for space garbage removal, a lunar rover for elemental detection and sample collection, and a commercial space telescope satellite.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Asteroid Mining Corporation: Asteroid Mining Corporation is working on robots called Space Capable Asteroid Robotic Explorers (SCAR-E) designed to drill into asteroids and process extracted materials on-site. They plan to launch a microsatellite space telescope in 2025 to identify potential mining sites.</p>
</li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><p>Answer to the second question: As I highlighted in my first response, space mining is potentially very profitable. However, our progress in this field is limited by our current technology and lack of knowledge. When landing on a planet, you can use its atmosphere to slow down your spacecraft, or in the case of the moon, you have enough space to use rockets to lower your velocity for landing. However, asteroids present unique challenges because they lack atmospheres to slow you down, and they have limited space for conventional landing procedures. They also do not produce a significant &quot;gravitation pull&quot; and this makes it much more difficult to enter into a stable orbit around them as highlighted in this <a href="https://phys.org/news/2010-06-asteroid-movies.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">article</a>. Due to these challenges, extensive research is being conducted to develop innovative methods for successfully mining resources from asteroids and safely returning them to Earth.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Extra: The <a href="https://space.stackexchange.com">Space Exploration Stack Exchange</a> as some information on this topic as well on this <a href="https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/54567/can-we-land-on-an-asteroid-and-ride-on-it">question</a>.</p>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-10T12:31:51.213Z
Thank you so much! Do you also happen to know whether there is any research done on which design would be best suited for such unique conditions?
Just want to know more
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-10T13:02:12.910Z
@Justwanttoknowmore I reccomend that you read this research paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282980645_Asteroid_Mining to learn more. As for your question, one of the technologies that I know that are being worked on is In-Situ Resource Utilization.
Shubhankar Dixit
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-11T02:59:04.680Z
@ShubhankarDixit this post might be of interest to you (although unanswered): https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/33319/are-there-public-ideas-concepts-for-space-mining-machines
Nilay Ghosh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-10T12:13:17.173Z
2023-10-11T23:42:43.923Z
2023-10-11T23:42:43.923Z
Shubhankar Dixit
<p>I will hardly be exhaustive, but I do want to mention Optical Mining. According to <a href="https://transastra.com/capabilities/#Capture" rel="nofollow noreferrer">TransAstra</a>, Optical Mining uses focused sunlight to efficiently extract resources from asteroids and space debris. That's one way to mitigate the space junk problem and convert space junk into something useful - fuel for spacecraft propulsion.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-11T20:09:25.200Z
2023-10-11T20:16:21.983Z
2023-10-11T20:16:21.983Z
WPWPWP
<p>I'm conducting research on the potential benefits of space mining on asteroids, like 16 Psyche. I'm hoping that those who are more knowledgeable than me can help with the following questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Are there any signs of companies willing to engage in space mining? If so, are they investing significantly in it? (I only know of a company that is sending out a satellite to investigate.)</p>
</li>
<li><p>If space mining is so profitable, why hasn't anyone pursued it in the past or been actively working to do so?</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>This is for a senior high school project, by the way.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-10T11:49:29.300Z
I think the SpaceExploration SE may be better for this. Super brief comments: I know at least one that has a serious plan, and they are separate from yours since they are not at present sending satellites. The profitability question is hard: it is not clear that it is that profitable really, which may explain why few are working on it.
Anders Sandberg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-10T12:03:27.077Z
Do you happen to know the name of the company?
Just want to know more
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-11T02:53:22.307Z
@Justwanttoknowmore https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/34301/how-many-companies-currently-specialize-in-the-research-of-asteroid-mining
Nilay Ghosh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-11T12:08:19.623Z
@Justwanttoknowmore - Offworld.
Anders Sandberg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-12T00:13:48.080Z
I’m voting to close this question because it's about human activities in space not related to astronomy. Space Exploration Stack Exchange might be a better choice.
HDE 226868
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-12T03:44:10.113Z
Space products are probably a lot more valuable in the offworld market, for building other space ships and stations, than on Earth.
gomennathan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-13T01:54:55.703Z
@HDE226868 We can migrate this question to Space SE. Wdys?
Nilay Ghosh
<planet>
Potentials of space mining
Just want to know more
# Potentials of space mining

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-10-10)

I'm conducting research on the potential benefits of space mining on asteroids, like 16 Psyche. I'm hoping that those who are more knowledgeable than me can help with the following questions:

1. Are there any signs of companies willing to engage in space mining? If so, are they investing significantly in it? (I only know of a company that is sending out a satellite to investigate.)
2. If space mining is so profitable, why hasn't anyone pursued it in the past or been actively working to do so?

This is for a senior high school project, by the way.

**Tags:** planet

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I think the SpaceExploration SE may be better for this. Super brief comments: I know at least one that has a serious plan, and they are separate from yours since they are not at present sending satellites. The profitability question is hard: it is not clear that it is that profitable really, which may explain why few are working on it.  
> **username_0**: Do you happen to know the name of the company?  
> **username_2**: @Justwanttoknowmore https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/34301/how-many-companies-currently-specialize-in-the-research-of-asteroid-mining  
> **username_1**: @Justwanttoknowmore - Offworld.  
> **username_3**: I’m voting to close this question because it's about human activities in space not related to astronomy. Space Exploration Stack Exchange might be a better choice.  
> **username_4**: Space products are probably a lot more valuable in the offworld market, for building other space ships and stations, than on Earth.  
> **username_2**: @HDE226868 We can migrate this question to Space SE. Wdys?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2023-10-10. Score: 2

I will be answering your question using sources I have found online, as well as my own knowledge and insights.

* Answer to the first question: There are many signs that suggest an interest in space mining from various countries, as highlighted in this [article](https://builtin.com/aerospace/top-space-mining-companies) However, as of now, NASA has been the most successful in this endeavor. This success can be attributed to the limited knowledge and experimental work conducted in this field. Recently, NASA initiated a mission to retrieve samples from an asteroid estimated to be worth $10,000 quadrillion. One notable example is Planetary Resources, a company initially founded with the goal of mining asteroids. However, in 2018, the company was acquired by ConsenSys, a blockchain technology firm, and shifted its focus to other projects. Another company, Deep Space Industries, also had plans for asteroid mining but faced financial challenges and ceased operations in 2019. Regarding investments, it's worth noting that space mining is a complex and expensive endeavor. While there have been some investments in this field, they may not be as substantial as in other industries due to the high costs and technical challenges involved.
* Companies actively pursuing asteroid mining include:

1. Karman+: Karman+ is developing technology for mining water from near-Earth asteroids. They have created a model of over 1 million near-Earth asteroids that could potentially be mined in the future.
2. TransAstra: TransAstra employs a technique called optical mining to extract propellant biomasses from space objects such as asteroids and moons. Their goal is to enable large-scale harvesting of water and materials for rocket propulsion.
3. AstroForge: AstroForge aims to mine asteroids for minerals with a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional Earth-based mining. They have secured funding for two space missions in 2023, including a demonstration flight and a mission to observe a target asteroid.
4. Origin Space: Origin Space has developed various technologies for space garbage removal, asteroid mining, and lunar exploration. They have built a robot for space garbage removal, a lunar rover for elemental detection and sample collection, and a commercial space telescope satellite.
5. Asteroid Mining Corporation: Asteroid Mining Corporation is working on robots called Space Capable Asteroid Robotic Explorers (SCAR-E) designed to drill into asteroids and process extracted materials on-site. They plan to launch a microsatellite space telescope in 2025 to identify potential mining sites.

* Answer to the second question: As I highlighted in my first response, space mining is potentially very profitable. However, our progress in this field is limited by our current technology and lack of knowledge. When landing on a planet, you can use its atmosphere to slow down your spacecraft, or in the case of the moon, you have enough space to use rockets to lower your velocity for landing. However, asteroids present unique challenges because they lack atmospheres to slow you down, and they have limited space for conventional landing procedures. They also do not produce a significant "gravitation pull" and this makes it much more difficult to enter into a stable orbit around them as highlighted in this [article](https://phys.org/news/2010-06-asteroid-movies.html). Due to these challenges, extensive research is being conducted to develop innovative methods for successfully mining resources from asteroids and safely returning them to Earth.
* Extra: The [Space Exploration Stack Exchange](https://space.stackexchange.com) as some information on this topic as well on this [question](https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/54567/can-we-land-on-an-asteroid-and-ride-on-it).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Thank you so much! Do you also happen to know whether there is any research done on which design would be best suited for such unique conditions?  
> **username_5**: @Justwanttoknowmore I reccomend that you read this research paper: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282980645_Asteroid_Mining to learn more. As for your question, one of the technologies that I know that are being worked on is In-Situ Resource Utilization.  
> **username_2**: @ShubhankarDixit this post might be of interest to you (although unanswered): https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/33319/are-there-public-ideas-concepts-for-space-mining-machines  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2023-10-11. Score: 0

I will hardly be exhaustive, but I do want to mention Optical Mining. According to [TransAstra](https://transastra.com/capabilities/#Capture), Optical Mining uses focused sunlight to efficiently extract resources from asteroids and space debris. That's one way to mitigate the space junk problem and convert space junk into something useful - fuel for spacecraft propulsion.


---

