Asteroid mining Technologies Roadmap and Applications. Final Report.

Abstract

Consumption of the finite resources of Earth continues to increase, and this modern phenomenon places a significant stress on the global economy, the ecosystem, and the future of societies on Earth. One proposal to address this scarcity is to exploit resources from near-Earth objects (NEOs), such as asteroids. Over 7,000 known NEOs have been classified according to their orbital properties (JPL, 2010). It is believed that a substantial fraction of these NEOs contain platinum group metals, which are highly prized in the current market, and occur in greater relative abundance than on Earth. For instance, the asteroid 3554 Amun contains over an estimated USD 6 trillion worth of these metals (Lewis, 1997). Iron, nickel, cobalt, methane, water, ammonia and other useful materials are present in many asteroids. Conversion of some of these materials into fuel can assist with the extraction and return of precious metals. The objective of the ASTRA project is to identify the challenges associated with commercial asteroid mining and to identify possible solutions. This report addresses several aspects of commercial asteroid mining, including physical sciences, engineering, law, business, and life sciences. The team developed several preliminary mission architectures, followed by a trade-off study used to identify the preferred option. The results of the trade-off study directly shape the outcome of the ASTRA project, a roadmap detailing the activities necessary for successful implementation of the selected architecture. Finally, the report concludes with a summary of key recommendations for continued development to ensure the realization of Team ASTRA‟s vision. This includes a recommendation for a robotic precursor mission to gather information about the asteroid in order to develop the technology readiness levels needed for full-scale mining operations. Abstract