Planetary Resources, Inc.
A conceptual rendering of spacecraft developed and operated by Planetary Resources mining an asteroid near Earth.
Chris Lewicki, president of Planetary Resources, a company based just east of Seattle, and about 30 employees are aiming beyond Earth for the next great gold rush. They are actually after the platinum group of metals They are planning, within a decade or so, an unmanned robotic mining mission to the asteroid belt. The company has money and backing from people with global reputations. Founded in 2010, the company has the filmmaker James Cameron as an adviser. Larry Page and Eric E. Schmidt, top executives at Google, are among its investors. Much of the space technology will have to be invented. The company is developing its own orbital telescope to survey remote asteroids to see what they're made of, with a planned launching within two years. But it also plans to produce the devices commercially, for corporations, governments or individuals. Water is more prevalent in the nearby universe than previously believed and so is part of the plan. Water can be distilled to hydrogen, allowing an asteroid ship to make its own fuel at the asteroid for the return trip. Planetary Resources, Inc. plans to mine asteroids for resources, such as precious metals and water, and sell these materials.
Platinum-group metals - ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum - are low in ppm (parts per million) on Earth, and deposited by asteroid impacts . PGM are easier to access in high-concentration platinum asteroids than on Earth.
A robotic mining spacecraft would not need parachutes or a large engine.
Platinum, used for jewelry, electronics components and automobile catalytic converters, fetches about $1,500 an ounce these days, so a single spacecraft would not have to bring back a lot of it for the enterprise to make money. Iron can be used to build spacecraft.
(Image: Bryan Versteg/spacehabs.com)
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/science/space/washington-company-is-working-to-mine-asteroids.html
http://news.yahoo.com/asteroid-mining-venture-backed-google-execs-james-cameron-011205183.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/24/science/space/in-pursuit-of-riches-and-travelers-supplies-in-the-asteroid-belt.html
http://www.planetaryresources.com/
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2012/04/mining-asteroids.html
