Asteroid mining

Asteroid mining is the hypothetical extraction of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects.

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.

Asteroid sample return research missions, such as Hayabusa, Hayabusa2, and OSIRIS-REx illustrate the challenges of collecting ore from space using current technology. As of 2023, less than 7 grams of asteroid material has been successfully returned to Earth from space. In progress missions promise to increase this amount to approximately 60 grams (two ounces). 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).

After 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.

The history of asteroid mining is brief but features a gradual development. Ideas of which asteroids to prospect, how to gather resources, and what to do with those resources have evolved over the decades.