The prospect of mining asteroids for valuable minerals, long the stuff of science fiction, is now a real-enough prospect for a number of commercial ventures to have attracted significant investment and to attract investment from both public entities as well as private ventures from the likes of Google’s Larry Page to movie director James Cameron.  

A report from the Keck Institute for Space Studies in 2012 concluded that, thanks to recent developments in space technology, asteroid mining is now viable for the first time in history. Various approaches have been suggested: one technique would involve capturing a near-by asteroid, using solar propulsion to move into the Earth’s orbit, and then applying a combination of human and robotic labour to extract the minerals.

Proponents say this is a trillion-dollar opportunity that could reduce competition for resources on Earth and power the future of space exploration with fuel sourced from the skies. But is it the ‘gold rush’ they claim it to be?

The potential could be astronomical indeed. Many key industrial materials that are in short supply on earth are abundant in nearby asteroids. Planetary Resources, the largest commercial space-mining venture, is targeting so-called ‘platinum-group’ metals, including platinum and palladium, which are used in around a quarter of all industrial goods. Co-founder Peter Diamandis claims that a single asteroid could contain more of these metals than have ever been mined on Earth.

Some space resources may never make it back to our home planet. Asteroids could provide spacecraft with nearby sources of water or fuel, greatly reducing the weight of the craft at launch.

Skeptics question whether space mining will ever be cost effective. Today’s missions cost hundreds of millions of dollars and have so far delivered only a few grams of raw materials back to Earth. And if a significant quantity of resources could one day be imported, a glut in supply could lower the price of materials on Earth dramatically, making it harder to fund further space mining.

Despite these concerns, investors such as Mr Diamandis insist the long-term prospects are sound, and that the key technological obstacles will be overcome in a matter of years, not decades.

But the challenges are not solely technical. First, it is not clear whether mining and selling asteroid riches is even legal. While the UN Outer Space Treaty of 1967 allows private enterprise in space and bans any territorial claims on celestial bodies, ownership status of extracted resources remains unclear. Mining the Moon—with a relative abundance of frozen water that would be easier to exploit than minerals from asteroids— is prohibited by the treaty, but asteroids are a grey area.

Other concerns related to space mining include the fear that it might lead to conflicts over space resources, its potential impact on the gravitational balance of the solar system, and whether it might distract from the goal of finding more environmentally friendly materials here on Earth.

Space mining has the potential to meet our material needs for years to come, and springboard the next chapter in space travel. But will it be worth the risks?

Should we be mining in space? Could it be the solution to our natural resources issues, or the extension of our abuse of the environment into outer space? Join the discussion on the Future Realities LinkedIn group, sponsored by Dassault Systèmes.