Īfter a burst of interest in the 2010s, asteroid mining ambitions have shifted to more distant long-term goals and some 'asteroid mining' companies have pivoted to more general-purpose propulsion technology. Asteroid research missions are complex endeavors and return a tiny amount of material (less than 1 milligram Hayabusa, 100 milligrams Hayabusa2, 60 grams planned OSIRIS-REx) relative to the size and expense of these projects ($300 million Hayabusa, $800 million Hayabusa2, $1.16 billion OSIRIS-REx).
In progress missions promise to up this amount to approximately two ounces.
As of 2021, less than 1 gram of asteroid material has been successfully returned to earth from space. Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification of asteroids which are suitable for mining, and the challenges of extracting usable material in a space environment.Īsteroid sample return research missions (see completed missions Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 and in-progress OSIRIS-REx) illustrate the challenges of collecting ore from space using current technology. 433 Eros is a stony asteroid in a near-Earth orbitĪsteroid mining is the hypothetical exploitation of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects.
