| NASA launched a mission in October 2023 to the metal-rich Psyche asteroid, which orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter. Several startups are aiming to launch space mining within about 10 years, targeting near-Earth asteroids. Source: Aubrey Gemignani/NASA via Getty Images. |
The prospect of mining asteroids and the moon has inspired a wave of space startups eager to claim metal riches and bring them back to Earth.
Space mining appears as the economic underpinning and backstory of many TV shows and movies: The Expanse books and TV series assumed an entire segment of society born and raised as miners in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter; asteroid mining is key to the economy of numerous planets in the Star Wars series; and the multidecade British science fiction comedy Red Dwarf is set on the eponymous mining ship.
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None of the starry-eyed optimists preparing to mine celestial bodies expect to be dropping vast quantities of iron on Earth anytime soon, but some executives told S&P Global Commodity Insights that they may bring back small quantities of platinum or rare earths as soon as the end of the decade.
The solar system is known to host vast amounts of resources — from platinum group metals commonly found in asteroids to rare earth elements on the moon. Tapping these extraterrestrial sources could spark a modern-day gold rush, satisfying humanity's ever-growing appetite for metals.
"While there are technical gaps, the world is close to solving them, and it is rather a question of getting up there and testing the equipment and processes," Daniel Sax, founder and CEO of Canada Space Mining Corp., said in an emailed statement. The company develops AI technology and quantum sensors to improve resource exploration in space.
The moon offers promise due to its relative proximity to Earth and humanity's insight into lunar conditions. Humans landed on the moon six times between 1969 and 1972, though no landings have since taken place.
NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon in 2025 and calls for an orbiting lunar space station, includes plans to excavate the lunar surface to search for iron and rare earths. Precious metals including platinum and palladium may also be present below the moon's surface.
"Lunar mining is more understood since we have been to the moon before, both with robots and humans," said Sax, who believes that lunar mining will ramp up before 2030 to sustain humans' permanent bases on the moon.
Asteroids are also on the radar. In October 2023, NASA and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), the private space company owned by Elon Musk, launched a mission to the Psyche asteroid, which is in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. While the mission is not focused on mining, the asteroid is said to be rich in metals.
Lindy Elkins-Tanton, the principal investigator of NASA's Psyche mission, told Commodity Insights that the asteroid's iron component alone is valued at $10,000 quadrillion, assuming that the material does not crash the market once it is brought back to Earth.
Though it is among the most metal-rich asteroids, Psyche is between 300 million and 600 million kilometers away, depending on where the Earth is in its orbit around the sun. Space mining startups are generally focused on the thousands of near-Earth asteroids that are more accessible to humans.
Huntington Beach, Calif.-headquartered AstroForge Inc. aims to become the first commercial company to mine an asteroid and bring the materials back to Earth. The startup is planning to launch its inaugural deep space mission in early 2024.
AstroForge's Odin spacecraft, previously known as Brokkr-2, will travel onboard a SpaceX rocket that will also carry a drill to the moon for NASA's Artemis program. The AstroForge spacecraft will continue past the moon until it reaches a metal-rich asteroid.
"With continued dedication, we will mine an asteroid before the end of the decade," AstroForge CEO Matt Gialich told Commodity Insights in an email.
Los Angeles-based Trans Astronautica Corp. (TransAstra) said its suite of technologies that would allow mining of near-Earth asteroids is "nearly ready," although the company did not provide a specific timeline.
TransAstra has worked on a low-cost telescope that can detect asteroids, as well as a space propulsion system that can carry mining systems to asteroids. Asteroids do not have enough gravity to hold down space mining equipment, so the company is developing "capture bags" to secure asteroids for mining.
In addition, TransAstra is developing a materials processing system that uses solar power and can function in microgravity.
"At this point, it has become largely a matter of getting the funding to finish the technical work, launch a demonstration mission and then go into operations," Joel Sercel, founder and CEO of TransAstra, said in an email.
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London-based Asteroid Mining Corp. Ltd. plans to explore both the moon and asteroids using "innovative robotics." In October, the company unveiled a six-legged robot "with unique climbing capabilities" that can be used to prospect for resources in space with minimal human oversight.
The company is optimistic that it can conduct "small-scale sample recovery tasks" within the next five years in areas of the moon that are difficult to access. Asteroid Mining aims to mine an asteroid by 2035.
"Technology-wise, things are moving fairly rapidly," Mitch Hunter-Scullion, founder and CEO of Asteroid Mining, said in an email.
While humans have made strides in developing space mining technology, there are concerns about the feasibility of returning minerals back to Earth.
"Will asteroid mining take off? That depends on the business case," said Martin Elvis, an astrophysicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts. Asteroid 9283 Martinelvis, which orbits the sun, is named after the astrophysicist.
"[Space miners] face the challenge of bringing back large tonnages quickly enough to generate a good [return of investment]," Elvis said.
To save on fuel costs, AstroForge said it plans to refine platinum group metals from asteroids in outer space and only bring the necessary materials back to Earth.
"We're leveraging proven technologies to make asteroid mining into a concrete business opportunity," AstroForge's Gialich said. "The biggest issue we face today is not technology — it's demonstrating the reality of asteroid mining to the public."
On the other hand, Denver-based Karman+ said sending space resources back to Earth could not be justified at the moment, citing the "massive premiums" required to extract the resources. The company aims to launch its first asteroid mining mission in early 2026.
"Returning material to Earth has relevance at a very small scale for its rarity value, but we don't believe that to be viable at scale in the next 10 years," Karman+ CEO Teun van den Dries said.
There may also be safety concerns about sending massive amounts of metal to Earth, according to Elvis.
"The miners need to reassure us Earthlings that directing 1,000 tons of iron towards Earth is perfectly safe. Regulations controlling that kind of return are sure to appear," Elvis said.
If space resources make it back to Earth, experts believe this new source of raw materials would be a game-changer.
"Space mining can completely remove terrestrial territorial disputes from the global resource supply chain," said Chris Dreyer, a professor at the Colorado School of Mines, and director of engineering at the university's Center for Space Resources.
"Space mining can be developed in a similar time and cost as a new terrestrial mine, although at a higher risk," Dreyer added.
Amid the uncertainties surrounding space mining, startups and experts believe pursuing the endeavor is worthwhile.
"Prospecting, exploration, extraction and processing technologies are all now under development ... [and] there is certainly an aspect of a 'space race' around things, as the rewards are so enormous," Asteroid Mining's Hunter-Scullion said.
Dreyer echoed Hunter-Scullion's sentiment.
"Disrupting the market by creating a new supply of critical minerals via space mining would have a strategic benefit. This might be the most important reason to prioritize space mining," Dreyer said.