Metal-rich asteroids like 16 Psyche could be mined for their resources

Could the days of cosmic collieries be rapidly approaching?

By Govert Schilling

Published: Friday, 06 October 2023 at 09:33 AM

Asteroid mining may one day soon become a reality, if space entrepreneurs are to be believed.

And many who think that asteroid mining is a real prospect, something that should be explored, will be eagerly following the upcoming Psyche mission.

On 12 October 2023, NASA’s Psyche mission launches on its journey to study a huge metal-rich asteroid located in the asteroid belt.

Psyche is the very first space mission to study an M-type (metallic) asteroid.

An artist’s impression of Asteroid 16 Psyche’s nickel-iron mountain peaks. Photos of the asteroid’s true topography could be expected from August 2029. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State Univ./Space Systems Loral/Peter Rubin

And while studies of the asteroid – known as asteroid 16 Psyche – from Earth have given scientists an idea of what to expect, no-one really knows what the spacecraft will find.

The Psyche mission is expected to reveal clues about our Solar System, including how it formed, what it was like in its infancy, and how it evolved.

But beyond their scientific value, some argue that asteroids like 16 Psyche could be mined for their valuable metals.

Future missions may seek not to explore and examine these space rocks, but instead to carry out asteroid mining.

How valuable could asteroid mining be?

Artist’s concept of metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

Metal-rich asteroids are scientifically interesting, but they may also have large economic value.

With an diameter of about 220 kilometres, asteroid 16 Psyche contains roughly 1% the total mass of the entire asteroid belt.

According to some estimates, Psyche could contain a staggering 10 quintillion dollars’ worth of iron, nickel and other precious metals.

But even if this were true, would humans actually be able to extract such metals and return them to Earth?

Could asteroid mining be a physical possibility, even if we wanted to do it?

Images taken by ESO’s Very Large Telescope in 2018 gave us a sense of Asteroid Psyche's shape and size. Credit: ESO/LAM — Images of asteroid Psyche taken by ESO’s Very Large Telescope in 2018 gave us a sense of Asteroid Psyche’s shape and size. Credit: ESO/LAM

Returning asteroid mining samples to Earth

Launching rovers and space probes across the Solar System is well within humanity’s capabilities.

But returning those missions back to Earth is another question.

The Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx missions, for example, returned samples of asteroids to laboratories on Earth, but these were relatively small samples.

Extracting huge amounts of material from an asteroid and returning it to Earth is another question entirely.

The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx shortly after touching down in the desert on 24 September 2023, Utah, USA. Credit: NASA/Keegan Barber

“The potential of asteroid mining has made entrepreneurs excited around the world,” says Psyche mission co-investigator Bill Bottke of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

But, he adds, “asteroid mining is hard and Psyche is far away. It may be a long time before the world suggested by The Expanse TV show becomes a reality.

“When that day arrives, though, Psyche would make an excellent target, depending on what we want to do with its metals.”

Other M-type asteroids, like the near-Earth objects 1986 DA and 2016 ED85, are much smaller but also much easier (and less costly) to exploit.

Small-scale asteroid mining may well become a reality before the end of this century.

What do you think? Should asteroids be exploited for their metals, or should humanity leave well alone? Let us know by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com.

This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of BBC Sky at Night Magazine.