Failed Asteroid Mining Project

Serena Liu (G6)

Science and Technology

Published Issue 6 2022-2023

Asteroid mining is the extraction of materials and minerals from other planets or asteroids in outer space. Elon Musk, for instance, is attempting to mine the 16 Psyche, an asteroid valued at $700 quintillion in heavy metals and known as the "Holy Grail".

Asteroids are leftover debris from the formation of the solar system 

However, to this day asteroid mining remains hypothetical. You may be wondering why? In this modern age of technology asteroid mining should be achievable. 

Well, to put it shortly asteroid mining could reap many benefits but the high cost of spaceflight, the undependable distinguishing of asteroids that carry valuable minerals and the challenges of importing the materials and extracting them in a space environment make it hard to achieve. 

Yet, despite these obstacles, asteroid mining remains a potential source of minerals, resources, and even the possibility of a new energy source, making it a worthwhile endeavour worth further exploration.

Many companies have tried to achieve space mining, but only to be met with failure and disappointment, for example, the company Planetary Resources. Planetary Resources was a company formed on January 1 2009 its goal was to ‘expand Earth's natural resource base’ by constructing tech for asteroid mining, 2012 Planetary Resources had many major investors, Planetary Resources had done many things to attain their goal of asteroid mining like the spaceship Arkyd-3, Arkyd-3 was set to launch in 2014 yet in 2014 the spaceship was destroyed in a launching accident. In 2016 Luxembourg invested 2.5 million dollars in the research and development of the project. 

Yet even with $50.3 million, it still wasn’t enough to cover the large amount of funding that they needed to get. This caused a large number of layoffs. The company had planned to get funding from a mining company but the investment was delayed because of budgetary reasons. Following that the company was forced to be sold to ConsenSys a blockchain company.

After a year of the company going bankrupt, In an interview with GeekWire Etienne Schneider, Luxembourg’s deputy prime minister said “It failed,” We lost our money. But that doesn’t mean that we changed our idea or that we will not invest anymore. So we continue on our path."

The remaining question is whether we should or should not mine asteroids. The answer depends. Asteroid mining is seen as a worthwhile investment because it can potentially unlock valuable resources from space, such as rare metals and minerals. This opens up the possibility of more sustainable and reliable sources of these resources. Additionally, it can create jobs, spur economic growth and provide opportunities for scientific and technological advancement. For example, a mining mission to an asteroid could help scientists better understand the formation of our solar system. Moreover, asteroid mining could provide an alternate energy source for space exploration and open up opportunities for new space-based technologies, such as space-based manufacturing.