What Do Scientists Know About Mining Asteroids?
Space Metal Katie PeekNot much--yet. Before we move to mining's final frontier, we'll have to fill in some gaps. Here's a visualized look at what we do know, and what we're lacking. In April, Planetary Resources, a newly formed private space company, announced that it would begin mining asteroids for water in 2020. Asteroids, the firm said, could also be a valuable source of platinum-group elements (PGEs), six metals used in industrial chemical reactions and devices such as catalytic converters. Earth contains only four high-grade PGE deposits, and the demand for the metals is increasing. But is there enough information to know where to dig? The basics are clear-how asteroids form, where they are located, and, roughly, what they're composed of-but details are scarce. Upcoming missions, including those by Planetary Resources' own prospecting spacecraft, may fill in some of the holes. But if space mining is to work, prospectors...