Startups Seek to Mine Asteroids Written 10 April 2023
Artist's concept of the 140-mile-wide asteroid Psyche | Credit: NASA
NBC News reports that asteroid mining is “a tantalizing but elusive prospect for innovators and investors alike.” Asteroids are a potential source of platinum and “other precious and rare earth metals that are essential for producing many consumer electronics.” However, there are technological hurdles to extracting them, so “some companies have focused on mining water from icy deposits on the moon or space rocks first before jumping to precious metals.” NBC focuses on startup AstroForge, which has its first test mission to demonstrate key technologies scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday.
Full Story (NBC News)