This may sound like science fiction but , since at least the 1970s , organizations like NASA have been considering the possible advantages of asteroid mining for resources .
Mine in space to build in space
Bringing rare metals to Earth is not the only possible use for asteroidderived materials . Building equipment on Earth then lifting it into space is , in fact , expensive . Every kilogram of material costs money to lift into orbit , and individual space launches cost upwards of $ 100 million . So , even the more common materials in asteroids , like iron and nickel , take on new value because they are already in outer space .
Other materials without an obvious structural purpose , such as water , could be used as raw materials for fuel synthesis and / or life-sustaining supplies . If the materials found in asteroids could be processed into a useable form in space , it would remove a major barrier to large-scale construction and exploration in outer space .
Asteroids can be grouped broadly into those that are primarily carbonaceous , silicates , or metallic . Metallic asteroids are primarily iron and nickel but can contain rare metals like platinum , gold , iridium , palladium , osmium , ruthenium and rhodium at concentration several times higher than what is found on Earth .
A single asteroid could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars , billions , or more if humans could overcome the formidable challenge of harvesting it .
Surveying for valuable ores
Harvesting an asteroid for trillions of dollars ’ worth of platinum sounds exciting . Yet the reality is that , so far , humans have barely harvested a few dust particles from actual asteroids .
Much of the in-depth information we have on the composition of asteroids is from the characterization of meteorites that have , of course , fallen to Earth from space . So how could we possibly know which asteroids are worth mining ?
The vast majority of measurements of the composition of asteroids in outer space have been accomplished using infrared spectroscopy via telescopes . Asteroids with different compositions absorb different frequencies in the
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